donts think that, provided they are satisfied with the price
there should be any difficulty about the Harrier.
PS:
Is that a change in policy compared with that
of the previous government. Indeed, is your policy essentially
the same or essentially different from that of the previous
government, not just on Harrier but towards China generally?
LC:
No I think that the previous government were
pursuing exactly the same policy about the Harrier. I dont
think there is any change about that. I think probably is
rather the other way on: that perhaps the Chinese look at
a bit more, a bit differently, from our predecessors. Partly
because the Chinese, as you know, consider that Europe is
very important, and a cohesive Europe is important in terms
of the stability and balance in the world. I think they
probably take the view that we are in our attitude more
European, and in our attitude towards defence, more orientated
towards NATO this is their opinion not mine. To that exent
probably they feel that their relationship with us might be
a bit easier, but it remains to be seen whether it is and I
am right in what I say
PS:
hesitancy
·
For whatever reason, historical reasons of
towards Europe, it does seem to me that the Chinese
do differentiate to some extent between us and say the French
and Germans. If you agree that that is so, and that they look
on France and Germany slightly ahead of Britain, what are you
doing about it? What is the policy on that?
LC:
I think that the
I would rather question whether that was
French opened up their relationship rather more
did. If you look at the history of it,
So.
quickly than we
we were one of the very first to recognise China, in 1950,
Long before most other people. And then we exchanged
Ambassadors a good many years later
C
I think it was in 1972
- when Sir Alec Douglas Home
Douglas Home as he then was went over and paid
a visit. And perhaps we have been rather slow, but I doubt
whether the Chinese would think, I dont know why they should,
think there was much difference between us and the Germans and
the French. I dont know that there is all that much evidence