CONFIDENTIAL
DSR 11C
SECTION I: WHAT DOES CHINA WANT FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM?
It
2. In Mao's lifetime, Chinese economic policy oscillated
between the pragmatism associated with Chou En-Lai and
the revolutionary idealistic approach seen at its most
extreme during the Cultural Revolution. Mao's death was
followed by the defeat of the ideological line of the
Gang of Four and the return to the leadership of the
highly pragmatic Teng Hsiao-ping. Further adjustments of
policies and personalities cannot be excluded, but there
are good reasons for the Chinese leaders in the years
ahead to give economic growth and defence, which is
dependent on it, priority over ideological factors.
is reasonable to assume that they will continue to act
in accordance with this broad goal of modernisation,
although there will be differences of opinion about
the way in which the priorities in the fields of
agriculture, industry, defence, and science and technology
are worked out. In all these fields, however, the
rapid modernisation which China seeks will require the
transfer of advanced technology from abroad. She will
on the other hand wish to avoid becoming overly dependent
on foreign countries in general or any one country in
particular.
CA
3. The Chinese will not look primarily for this
resistance to the Soviet Union and its allies: Sino-
Soviet tensions may lessen, and practical co-operatives
may increase, but the underlying mutual hostility and
fear will remain. In the United States, domestic
CONFIDENTIAL
/political
D
107991 400.000 7/76 904 953
Page 15Page 16