SCR 29/5701/79
CONFIDENTIAL
2
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6 January 1982
3.
As you will know, LIANG has spent most of his career in the provincial administration of Fujian.
He was Minister of Light Industry for two years before his appointment to Canton in 1980. We found him agreeable enough but he did not make a very positive impression. He certainly lacked REN Zhongyi's air of authority.
4.
I met one of the two deputy mayors who
accompanied LIANG, LIANG Shangli, at lunch with Gordon Wu a few days earlier. LIANG Shangli, who has a "capitalist" background (wife from Macau and son studying in the United States), has been much involved with Wu's various projects in Canton and Shenzhen and made the arrangements for his recent visit to Peking where he saw YE Jianying and ZHAO Ziyang, among others.
5.
On his departure, Mayor LIANG issued a written statement (copy enclosed) describing his visits to the United States, Hong Kong and Macau. He confirmed Guangzhou's "flexible" approach to foreign investment and said that assistance from Hong Kong and Macau would be welcome.
Yours ever, Rozmi
(R JT McLaren)
cc M Elliot Esq
FED FCO
M W Atkinson Esq MBE PEKING
D M March Esq OBE
Senior British Trade Commissioner HONG KONG
CONFIDENTIAL