CONFIDENTIAL
Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret,
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
DRAFT
Minute
To: Minister for Overseas Development
ہے
A
"B
Type 1 +
DSR 11
From
Secretary of State
Telephone No. Ext.
Department
In Confidence
SINC-BRITISH RELATIONS
1. In my minute to the Prime Minister of 30 August 1978,
copied to colleagues, I gave an appraisal of Sino-British
relations. I pointed out then the need to increase our
current levels of expenditure on China, specifically on the
student and language training programmes.
2. I asked the British Council in the first instance to
consider whether they could meet this increase from within
their existing resources. By cuts elsewhere they were able
to find extra money to finance an expanded programme of
educational exchange, including re-inforcing the Embassy in
Feking to cope with the increased level of exchanges.
Shirley Williams set out what we were doing in her minute
of 11 October 1978.
3.
All this assumed that the Chinese would pay the total cost
of the services they requested. The Chinese have now
indicated that they cannot do this, their earlier assurances
to Shirley Williams notwithstanding. The situation is
explained in the latest exchange of telegrams with our
Embassy in leking, of which I enclose copies for ease of
reference. I endorse the Ambassador's opinion that we are
/now
CONFIDENTIAL
Dd 0532000 800M 5/78 HM50 Bracknell