CONFIDENTIAL
we should certainly need to go to Ministers. The FCO recom- mendation to Ministers would depend largely on our judgement of the weight to be given, respectively, to the disadvantages to Hong Kong of a metropolitan-only agreement and the damage done to British shipping interests of getting no agreement at all (the latter must depend on the assessment mentioned at the outset of this letter). We should also need to assess carefully the value of whatever assurances the Chinese were prepared to give regarding the treatment of Hong Kong outside the agreement: it would be difficult to recommend going ahead in the absence of any assurances at all. As regards the political dangers for Hong Kong of a metropolitan-only agreement, we would endorse the assessment in paragraph 4 of Hong Kong telegram No 406.
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Mr McLaren HK&GD FCO
THIS
COPY FOR
Mr Samuel FED FCO
MR Morland
Maritime, Aviation and Environment
Department
CONFIDENTIAL