Mr Cortazzi
PS/Mr Luard
PS/Lord Goronwy-Roberts
Private Secretary
CONFIDENTIAL
4
1. We have discussed this at official level both internally
It is a real and interdepartmentally and at some length. problem. The Chinese may still have some negotiating margin, but if so our Embassy in Peking have not been able to discover
Unless it and the Chinese appear to be digging their heels in.
we are to opt out altogether, which I assume we do not wish to do for wider reasons, we have to find the extra money from some- where. The amount could vary as paragraphs12 of the background note indicated. Moreover if we could get the ODM to contribute at least part of it we might be able to persuade the British Council to produce the rest from their "information money". But the Council will stoutly resist having to cough up the lot. Moreover it has to be said that the ODM do not appear to have at quite the same difficulties as the rest of us over money: one of our meetings the ODM representative said somewhat defensively that they did not expect to have in future the same underspending problems they had had in the past.
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2. This does not mean that the ODM will readily agree to produce money for China. China as an aid recipient. But I believe we ought to try to persuade them.
Indeed I expect them to resist treating
3. Since time is short before the Secretary of State goes to China he may wish to add a sentence at the end of the minute asking for an early reply and proposing, if necessary, a discussion with Mrs Hart. In order to avoid giving her the impression that we are ganging up on her we have not suggested
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CONFIDENTIAL