CONFIDENTIAL
DSR 11C
since. Zhou Enlai repeated the request during a conversation with the
British Chargé d'Affaires (Mr Denson) in February 1971. The question was
then pursued by Zhang Wenjin (Chang Wen-chin), head of the Western
European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Sir John Addis
(March 1972); by Qiao Guanhua (Ch'iao Kuan-hua), a Vice-Minister of
Foreign Affairs, with Mr Royle, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (May 1972);
and by Ji Pengfei (Chi P'eng-fei), Foreign Minister, and Premier Zhou
Enlai with the Secretary of State, Sir Alec Douglas-Home (October-
November 1972). In each instance, the Chinese received the reply that the
British Government could not at present accede to the request.
78 The Secretary of State gave his reply when Ji Pengfei visited London
in 1973. During talks on 7 June, Ji began by re-stating the Chinese case
for official representation in Hong Kong. He proposed that a Chinese
representative in Hong Kong might be titled either a Representative of
Guangdong or a Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Chinese were also willing to consider reciprocal representation of the
Hong Kong authorities in Guangzhou (Canton). The status of Hong Kong,
said Ji, was not in question.
•
The
That was a matter for the future. The
Chinese regarded the appointment of an official representative in
Hong Kong as an aspect of the development of their relations between
Britain and China. Ji explained that Zhou Enlai had raised the matter
-because of the Nationalist Government's appointment of a Special
Commissioner for Guangdong and Guangxi to Hong Kong. He could not see why
the CPG could not send a Commissioner, especially now that relations were
CONFIDENTIAL
/so
Dd 0532000 400 M 5/78 HMSO Brucknell