CR 9/951/79
RJT McLaren Esq
Far Eastern Department F CO
CONFIDENTIAL
24 January, 1980.
Kabir
182/1
HKK 182
RECENLO DA PMSAY NO.
2.5 MAR 1980
BESK OFFICER
INDEX
PA
T
ston T.
Nol
RIMR 26/3
26
23
REPLACEMENT HONG KONG AIRPORT IN CHINA
You will have seen from Hong Kong telegram No 56 of 9 January that there was a story in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on 4 January about a proposal to build a replacement airport for Hong Kong across the border in Shenzhen. That telegram also made the point that we had been trying to discourage speculation about government interest in such a plan. I have since noticed that the story re-appeared, with even fewer caveats, in The Times.
2.
Since then there have been one or two other interesting snippets on the same subject. One local Chinese newspaper, the Criental Daily News, took the trouble to ring up the man in charge of the newly established office here of the Feking-based China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC), Wu Zhichao, and ask for his views on the SCMF article. According to the paper, Wu said that he had sent a telegram to Peking enquiring and had been told that they knew nothing of the plan. He said that he had also consulted NCNA and other local Chinese organisations and they too knew nothing.
3.
Today I had lunch with Wu, the first time I had met him. Leading the conversation round to speculative stories about development projects in China, I said that I had been puzzled by the article in the SCMP which seemed to imply that the British and Hong Kong governments were actively considering the possibility of a replacement airport in Shenzhen and also said that China had approved the project. It was incorrect that Hong Kong or Britain were considering such an idea; this made me wonder if the story was also wrong about Chinese views. Mr Wu said that the report of Chinese interest in the project was false. He thought there would be far too many difficulties involved in such an idea. Finally, he commented, with a wry smile, that, if such a plan were ever realised, he was sure that China would not be putting up the capital.
/contd.
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CONFIDENTIAL