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5. CH'IAO AND HIS ASSOCIATES SHOWED GREAT INTEREST IN THE
ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND IN OUR VIEWS
ABOUT THE WAY IN WHICH THE COMMUNITY MIGHT DEVELOP. INTER ALIA,
THEIR QUESTIONS COVERED THE ARRANGEMENTS WE HAVE NEGOTIATED WITH
THE COMMUNITY FOR TRADITIONAL EXPORTS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH, THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FEDERAL AND CONFEDERAL APPROACHES AND THE
PROSPECT FOR THE VOLUTION OF A COMMON MONETARY POLICY.
6. ON CHINESE REPRESENTATION IN HONG KONG, CH'IAO PUT ON RECORD
ANSWERS TO THE POINTS I HAD MADE IN JUSTIFYING OUR INABILITY TO
ACCEPT THE CHINESE PROPOSAL. ONCE HE HAD DONE THIS, AND HAD ASKED US TO RECONSIDER OUR ATTITUDE, HE DID NOT MENTION THE SUBJECT
AGAIN. BUT IT IS QUITE CLEAR THAT WE HAVE HOT HEARD THE LAST OF THE CHINESE PROPOSAL: AND CH'IAO HIMSELF HAS HINTED THAT THE CHINESE
MAY LINK WHAT THEY REGARD AS PROGRESS OVER THEIR PROPOSAL WITH
PEADINESS ON THEIR PART TO BE ACCOMMODATING OVER THE DEVELOPMENT
OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH HONG KONG.
7. CHI WAS LESS IMPRESSIVE THAN CH'1A0. BUT HE WAS CLEARLY OUT TO
DE FRIENDLY AND HE WAS STUDIOUS IN HIS AVOIDANCE OF ALL SUBJECTS ON WHICH BRITISH AND CHINESE POLICIES ARE AT VARIANCE (EG INDO-CHINA) OR ON WHICH WE COULD PERHAPS HAVE EXPECTED CRITICISM (EG RHODESIA)
HE MADE A POINT OF EMPHASISING THAT YOU WOULD BE WARMLY RECEIVED
IN PEKING IN THE AUTUMN.
:
8. CH'IAO AND HIS ASSOCIATES WERE QUITE PREPARED TO TALK BUSINESS
OUTSIDE THE FORMAL MEETINGS. I HAD USEFUL PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS WITH CH'IAO AND SUNG CHIN-KUANG (AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE TO LONDON)
ABOUT CHINESE ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE STATUS AND FUTURE OF HONG KONG,
AS OPPOSED TO CHINESE REPRESENTATION. IT WAS MADE CLEAR TO
ME THAT THEY WERE QUOTE VERY HAPPY WITH THE PRESENT STATUS QUO
IN HONG KONG UNQUOT", WHICH THEY CONSIDERED SATISFACTORY FOR
BOTH THE CHINESE AND BRITISH GOVERNMENTS. I TOLD THEM WE WOULD DO
NOTHING TO CHANGE THE INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS THERE.
19.
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