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Premier Hua said that he wished the Prime Minister to know
that the Chinese Government had decided to treat Guangdong Province
in a special way, to allow its economy to develop quicker. Several counties bordering on Hong Kong had been designated special areas,
in the hope that this would cause production and incomes to increase
and the differentials with Hong Kong to narrow. Two counties,
Baoan and Zhuhai, had already been designated, and Chaozhou would
follow. These counties would have powers to develop their own foreign
trade.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
said that when he had seen the Governor of Hong Kong in London,
and in Hong Kong, the Governor had been full of gratitude for the
reception he had received on his visit to China, and the extent of Chinese economic collaboration with Hong Kong. Lord Carrington had
seen for himself some of the problems caused by the illegal immigrants in Hong Kong. The numbers were very large by Hong Kong
standards, if not by the standards of China, especially when added
to the nearly 70,000 boat people in Hong Kong. Only the Chinese in
Hong Kong could have coped as well as they had.
Sino-British Trade
The Prime Minister asked what assistance the British Government
could give the Chinese Government in the commercial field. The
British Government were ready to supply China with a wide range of
defence equipment, including Harrier. At Prime Minister's Questions
in the House of Commons, she had just been accused of causing trouble
between China and the Soviet Union. When she had responded by
affirming her readiness to supply Harriers to China, to further the
expansion of Sino-British commercial relations, great cheers had
gone up. Pravda had apparently yesterday warned her against this.
She understood that a Chinese delegation would shortly be visiting
Britain. In this field the Chinese Government would be given every
facility and help possible. She wished Premier Hua to know that
this policy came from the top.
CONFIDENTIAL
/ Premier Hua