2.
CONFIDENTIAL
6.
a)
b)
c)
propose a contract for delivery as from '82 and ask for coal samples. In this scenario they would not mention mining equipment, but would hope that British exporters might nevertheless secure orders for it.
As in (a), but mentioning that if the Chinese were interested in acquiring mining equipment for the increased production this could be either bought from the UK or the price of the equip- ment could be covered by adjusting the price of the coal. Such a package would be of obvious value to HMG in their efforts to achieve a price for the generator and boiler that would be competitive with the Japanese. package would also assist Sir Lawrence in persuading his board to buy British without going to public tender.
Such a
That China Light, while continuing to remind the Chinese of their interest should proceed to order a boiler which their intelligence suggests would suit both the type of Chinese coal most likely to be available, and also coal from some other assured source. Even if the Chinese did not bite, they might wish to do so later on when they saw this potential source of foreign exchange being built, in which case China Light could switch to a Chinese source with or without including an offer of mining equipment as might seem best at the time.
1
In discussing the possibilities with Sir Lawrence Kadoorie I mentioned as being possible relevant:
a)
the difficulty of persuading the Chinese to commit themselves at a time when:
(1)
their production was still affected by earthquake damage
(ii) their whole economic development
policy was under debate.
/over