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prosperous society; as a reliable and important
interlocutor on international issues; to reaffirm the
importance we attach to Sino-British relations and to the
development of a stable, responsible and prosperous China;
and to establish a working understanding with the Chinese
Government at the highest level. We wished to explain our
world view, particularly on East-West relations, to seek
Chinese understanding or support forour policies on
international issues of particular concern to us
(including Rhodesia) and to encourage the Chinese to take
an increasingly active part in multilateral discussions.
We also wished to improve further our understanding with
the Chinese over Hong Kong and thus to contribute to
political and business confidence in Hong Kong's future.
Beyond this we wished to promote our commercial interests
and to reaffirm our interest in expanding the scope of our
cultural exchanges. The objectives of our Western
European partners were similar, though the Germans for
Ostpolitik reasons wished in particular to avoid any
suggestion that they were subscribing to Chinese anti-
Soviet views.
VISIT TO THE UK
7. The programme (copy attached) was designed to point up
our objectives. We (like his other European hosts)
accorded Premier Hua a reception corresponding in most
respects to Head of State treatment, recognising that
although not formally Head of State, he is senior in
Government and Party terms to China's nearest equivalent.
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/Substantive