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to enter into discussions with the Chinese before
the mid-1980s in order to reach an understanding
which will maintain business confidence.
(b) Trade Although taking only 0.7% of total
British exports in the best recent year (1973),
trade with China is an important part of British-
Chinese bilateral relations, and represents big
sales opportunities for important British
industries. The following sections of this paper
examine potential British civil and defence sales
against the background of other, wider interests.
(c) Interests shared with other Western countries
The Sino-Soviet split has on balance improved the
ability of the West to counter the increasing
power of the Soviet Union, in Europe and the world
as a whole, to act against its fundamental interests.
It will continue to be a broad aim of Western policy
to foster the continuance of the split. On the
other hand, the rise of Chinese power in the years
ahead will also pose threats to Western interests,
particularly in the Third World.
mitigated in the short term by China's preoccupation
with her own internal economic development, but it
should also be an important Western aim to increase
China's material interest in good relations with
These may be
Western countries in the long term.
In particular,
/while
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