CONFIDENTIAL
237
.GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
21 December, 1978
**** OUR Ref.:
* YOUR Ref.:
R C Samuel
HKK 020/1
KECENDO MI NAUSIŲ RO. 51
29 DEC 1978
DFSK OF
INDEX
Far Eastern Department
F CO
Ru
hii
Action
Ne men o.r.
14/1/15
-all verz encouraging!
J. 25112.
However, Jefanese indraged this beady
have
VISIT BY LI CH'IANG, CHINESE MINISTER OF FOREIGN TRADE
The Chinese Minister of Foreign Trade, Li Ch'iang, arrived here from the Philippines on 14 December. He had applied in the usual way for a transit visa and we thought that he would go straight back to China after a short pause, as is the normal practice of high-level Chinese visitors. Somewhat to our surprise, however, Li stayed on. He finally departs for China only this morning.
2.
While here Li has been very active. He has talked to a large number of Chinese and foreign businessmen, visited the Far East Stock Exchange, given a press conference and a reception, and spent the night in Macau. The mesaage he has been putting across (as reported briefly in Hong Kong telegram No. 1464 of 20 December) is that China is now prepared to accept any normal form of international trading practice, including government to government loans and joint ventures in China with up to 49% foreign investment. The only limitation he has put on loans is his oft repeated remark that they will have to be within the scope of China's ability to pay back.
His other theme, given much publicity in the press, is that Hong Kong has an important role to play in the modernisation of China as a centre of communications, an entrepot and a source of expertise on business and industry.
3.
One of the points which Li made when talking to businessmen was that China is now prepared to accept permanent. representation by foreign businesses in China.
He was questioned closely about this by, amongst others, David Newbigging of Jardines. It seems clear, however, that there is a gap between the new principle of accepting foreign representatives and the practical implementation of the policy. Newbigging was told that there were great difficulties in accommodating the large numbers of people who wanted to establish offices in China. Li said that the Chinese were planning to build a foreign trade centre in Peking, with Japanese help, and that this would be used for office
/contd..
CONFIDENTIAL