RESTRICTED
Assistance for Chinese Exports
10.
China's continuing need to find new export outlets means that assistance
for Chinese exports will continue to be an important element in our commercial
relations. The EEC/China Business Week in Brussels March 30 to April 10 1981 has
this as its principal motive and is a development of the theme which the UK
initiated through the visit to the UK by China's Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade
Mr Jia Shi. Some of this activity will be public relations, but we need also to
look for ways of genuinely aiding an increase in Chinese exports. Methods should
include:
(i)
support for activities such as the EEC/China Business Week;
(ii)
continuing to look for ways of relaxing UK quota restrictions,
subject to the needs of UK industry;
(iii)
support and publicise those UK firms which are willing to take
Chinese goods in countertrade; and
(iv)
encourage the Chinese to adapt to the needs of international marketing
by broadening their range of export products, improving the quality
and packaging, and giving reliable undertakings about long term
supply.
New ways of promoting UK exports
11.
We should also continue to examine other ways of helping China's modernisation,
in spite of her financial constraints. Eg leasing
: and sale of second-hand equipment (this idea deserves
to be tested: a recent Guangdong delegation expressed interest in the idea. We
propose to monitor the success/failure of examples we come across).