CONFIDENTIAL
Sir John Hunt GCB
CABINET OFFICE
Jew Johen,
36
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
18 September 1979
нского
*
EIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51
INDLX
2 1 SEP 1979
RAUSTRY Action Taken
PREMIER HUA GUOFENG'S VISIT: OBJECTIVES AND BRIEFING
1. As you know, the Chinese Premier Hua Guofeng will be making an
He official visit to this country from 28 October to 3 November. will come here from France and Germany and before a visit to Italy. He will be accompanied by Vice Premier Yu Qiuli, Foreign Minister Huang Hua, and four Vice Ministers (of Foreign Affairs, Planning, Foreign Trade and Public Security).
2.
This will be the first time a Chinese Prime Minister has visited Britain, and Hua's first visit to Western Europe. visit at this level is unlikely to be repeated for a long time: and, as Hua is effectively, though not in name, Head of State as well as Government, it represents a unique opportunity for us to influence and impress Chinese political, economic and commercial thinking at the highest level.
3.
Since the fall of
The timing is particularly appropriate. the "Gang of Four" and the return to power of Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leadership have been increasingly looking to broaden the scope of their political and commercial cooperation with the West. They see the West both as a bulwark against the Soviet Union, and as a vital source of the modern technology they need for their economic modernisation. Our own bilateral relations with China have become substantially closer under the new Chinese Leadership and our bilateral trade and cooperation over Hong Kong have both improved. Hua's visit offers us the opportunity both to carry this process further, and also to make an important contribution to the further strengthening of the West's overall relationship with China.
4.
The programme for Hua's visit will probably include two sessions of talks with the Prime Minister and an exchange of dinners; Lunch at Buckingham Palace; entertainment by the Duke of Kent (as Vice Chairman of the BO B), the Lord Mayor of London, the Governor of the Bank of England, and the Speaker; and industrial and commercial visits inside and outside London. We are also considering, in consultation with other departments and the Chinese as appropriate, the possibility of concluding an Air Services Agreement, a Cultural Agreement, a Trade Protocol or an Understanding, on Agricultural Cooperation in time for signature during the visit.
CONFIDENTIAL
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