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The Maritime Agreement
2. Between 1973 and 1976 China concluded maritime agreements with
France, West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Grecce, Japan and Romania. These ran on
standard lines and covered access to ports, avoidance of flag
discrimination, most favoured nation treatment for vessels and cre
protection for crews, mutual exemption from taxes etc (in other words, the subsidiary matters referred to in paragraph 7).
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i Maritime agreements do not normally deal with questions of how the
carriage of trade should be shared (because except where state-
trading countries are involved these matters are left to the marke but two of them, those with France and West Germany, do exception-" ally contain provisions for a continuing dialogue about what might be termed the "economic aspects. The French Agreement speaks of discussions about the levels of activity of ships of the two flags and the tariffs and other conditions in which those activities are1
carried out, these to be settled in conformity with the principles of equality and mutual benefit. The German wording is very simila It is significant that the Japanese, whose Maritime Agreement with China does not contain provisions of this kind, have so far failed to reach agreement with the Chinese on the terms on which a liner
service might be resumed.
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3.
Following an initiative from the General Council of British Shippi we conducted a round of negotiations for a Maritime Agreement through our Embassy in Peking in February 1977 but negotiations were broken off over whether benefits under the Agreement could be: extended, as we wished, to Hong Kong vessels and crews. When
Mr Dell met the Vice-Minister of Communications, Madame Kuo-Chien, during his visit last August he said that he hoped to put forward
proposals for the resumption of negotiations quite soon. He added that we would need to take account of the position of Hong Kong and that we hoped we could find a way. forward satisfactory to both side