confirm what is essentially the principle of fair shares of trade for each
others shipping industries on commercial terms. We await the Chinese
reaction and the Embassy in Peking has been asked to follow up.
The Embassy has also been asked to seek firm dates for the resumption
of discussions on a Maritime Agreement. Earlier negotiations were broken
off in February 1977 over whether benefits under the Agreement could be
extended, as we wished, to include Hong Kong vessels and crews (Hong Kong
is an important UK sub-registry and any agreement which discriminated
against the colony could damage the shipping as well as ship repair and
related interests). The Embassy has been asked to arrange for a preliminary
round of talks to examine whether a satisfactory basis now exists for the
resumption of negotiations and conclusion of Maritime Agreement which takes
into account Hong Kong interests.
a