COVERING CONFIDENTIAL
Enter a
PA
Head of Personnel Policy Department
Head of Personnel Operations Department
Head of Personnel Services Department
Head of Local Staff Seetion, PSD-
IS
Mubing No Williamson 20.8
of passis intrest July to
HKK LIH Head of Accommodation and Services Department Head of Permanent Under-Secretary's Department
Head of Trade Relations and Export Department
Head of Information Policy Department
Head of
Hong Kongben LDODE
Depart Department
The attached complete copy/copies of the
Inspection Report(s) is/are for information only
The sections of the Report requiring aetion by your
Department have been sent for entry separately.
20 AUG 1979
R M Russell
Chief Inspector
COVERING CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
CHINA TRADE UNIT: OFFICE OF THE SENIOR BRITISH TRADE COMMISSIONER,
HONG KONG
REPORT BY MR T T GATTY AND MR R J GRIFFITHS
Trade Commissioner (China Trade)
DS5
Mr R Reeve
Personal Assistant
S2
Miss A Keith.
BACKGROUND
1.
The
We visited Hong Kong following the Inspection of Peking. Senior Trade Commissioner was on leave but had previously travelled to Tokyo to discuss the China Trade Unit (CTU) with us. It had been agreed by the FCO before our arrival in Hong Kong that in view of the greatly increased attention being devoted to China by British exporters the CTU should be reinforced
(á)
(b)
2.
(a)
(b)
(c)
3.
to provide additional staff support, on call, for Peking until such time as office space and houses could be provided for additional staff resident in Peking; and
to cope with an increased flow of enquiries addressed to the Senior Trade Commissioner in Hong Kong about trade with China.
It had also been agreed before our arrival that
a new Mandarin speaking First Secretary should be appointed to head the CTU and should take post in September;
his remit should be as defined in FCO tel no 344 of 7 June 1979 to Peking (attached at Annex A);
subject to the agreement of the Hong Kong Government (which the Governor's Political Adviser confirmed to us would be forthcoming) the officers of the CTU should be accredited in Peking although resident in Hong Kong.
The Senior Trade Commissioner maintained, and we agree, that the CTU would need to be a party to all exchanges on trade and economic matters between London and Peking and that a confidential registry would need to be set up for this purpose.
COMMERCIAL REQUIREMENTS IN PEKING
4.
The requirement to provide support to Peking is fairly clear cut and will include the following major elements;
(a)
(b)
Trade Promotion in South China (including the Canton Trade Fairs and initiative visiting under the direction of the Commercial Counsellor in Peking);
Reinforcement for Peking during times of heavy pressure eg because of major commercial events;
(e)
Cover for leave absences
CONFIDENTIAL
These duties seem likely to add up to roughly a full time task for one officer throughout the year and there may be peaks eg during the Canton Fairs, when more than one officer will be required.
COMMERCIAL REQUIREMENTS IN HONG KONG
5.
These are less easy to forecast. Earlier this year there was an upsurge of interest in trade with China. Many enquiries were dealt with by the Senior Trade Commissioner himself since he had served in Peking some years ago. However statistics were kept only for the two months prior to our visit. These suggest that initial interest has somewhat subsided but it is impossible to say whether this is due to a seasonal slack or is to any extent indicative of future demand. All that we have to go on are the following figures for the period 10 May 6 July 1979:
LOCAL
UK
Visitors who announced they wished to talk about China Trade
10
5
Visitors who call to discuss Hong Kong but also spend some time on China Trade
33
ยา
5
Telephone enquiries about China Trade (excludes 20 concerning the Energy Exhibition in Peking)
13
701
Total outgoing letters of which, on China Trade
Total outgoing telegrams of which, on China Trade
Total EIS Notices
of which on China Trade
Total number of Status Reports
of which, on China Trade
HA HN Hě
276
8
4
Although these figures are not particularly high it is significant that the number of British Business Visitors who wish totalk about China Trade represents about three quarters of the total who visited the Senior Trade Commissioner's Office during the period in question..
STAFFING
6.
Given that one officer from the CTU will be committed for most of his time to work for Peking it seems to us essential also to provide more coverage than at present in Hong Kong for China Trade questions, particularly since, as the Senior Trade Commissioner has rightly pointed out, the CTU will also need to
(a)
prepare reports for Peking and London on Hong Kong/China trading links
GONFIDENTIAL
(h)
·