CONFIDENTIAL
In Quentull
Jas
J A B Stewart Esq
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Whitehall
London SW1
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY
1 VICTORIA STREET
LONDON SWIH OET
TELEPHONE DIRECT LINE 01-215
SWITCHBOARD 01-215 7877
5 January 1978
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HONG KONG POWER STATION PROJECT
We are now making preparatory arrangements for handling the press publicity in respect of the Letter of Intent for the Hong Kong power station project. Although we would prefer not to make any announcement until the contract had been signed this is clearly not practicable. GEC have already had two press inquiries and they are finding it difficult to fend off inquirers.
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I attach a note, and supplementary material, which sets out our publicity proposals. I should welcome your comments and those of copy recipients if possible by the end of this week. John Lippitt will be chairing a meeting on this matter with the companies early next week (copies have been sent to them and to the CEGB) and if any copy recipients wish to attend that meeting please let me know.
I should particularly welcome your comments on the line which should be taken regarding coal from China for the power station. If pressed - and I regard it as most likely that some questions will be raised - we should like to say that the possibility of Chinese coal had been discussed by Government Ministers with Mr Li Chiang during his December visit to London. The Government was particularly interested in this possibility for two reasons:
To strengthen the already gore relations betwee to bring Hong Kong and the People's Republic of 5 HK China closer together;
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British coal mining equipment manufacturers had been successful in selling to China in the past and the Government hoped that further sales would develop.
I hope that you will agree with this approach.
A J MACDONALD
cc: Mr Birch ECGD
Mr Priston Trade Mr Mingay Trade
Mr Morphet Energy Mr Havelock Industry