Registry
No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret,
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
CONFIDENTIAL
DRAFT
LETTER
To:-
Bryan Cartledge Esq No 10 Downing Street
CHINA: VISIT BY PREMIER HUA GUO FENG
Type 1 +
From
J S Wall
Telephone No. Ext.
Department
DSR 11
1. Your Letter of 21 May recorded the Prime Minister's
agreement to invite the Chinese Premier, Mr Hua Guofeng,
to visit the UK from 30 October to 3 November, and asked
for further advice on the programme in due course.
2. We have now considered with other Departments the content of a possible programme on the basis foreshadowed in my letter of 18 May, and I attach a draft outline for the Prime Minister's consideration and approval in broad
terms. We have had no indication yet of Premier Hua's own
wishes. If the Prime Minister is content in principle
with the attached draft, we shall put it to the Chinese
as a basis for discussion.
3.
Premier Hua will be the highest-level visitor ever
to come to Britain in the 30 years of the People's
Republic of China. He is effectively Head of State, as well as Head of Government, and although it is impossible to predict the future course of Chinese politics, Premier Hua is young by Chinese standards, and could well
continue to hold these two positions for many years. He
will probably be accompanied by the most senior Vice
Premier ever to visit this country, Mr Yu Qiuli, who is
in charge of economic planning, and by the Foreign Minister:
Mr Huang Hua. A visit on this level is unlikely to be repeated for a long time, and thus represents a unique opportunity to influence Chinese political, economic and commercial thinking at the highest level. The draft programme has therefore been designed to Leave Hua and his
CONFIDENTIAL
/party