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N-PLANT TALKS:
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The 5th round of the Guangdong Nuclear power plant talks will be held in Beijing from 22 to 25 March, several newspapers, including Wen Wei Po, reported. If the talks progressed smoothly, a memorandum would be signed to clear the way for substantive discussions which would be conducted directly by the companies concerned.
The 4th round of the talks took place in HK from 15 to 18 March. The Chinese delegation was headed by the Vice-Minister of Water Conservancy, Mr. Li Peng, and the British side by the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Industry, Mr. Gordon Manzie. The Financial Secretary, Mr. John Bremridge, the Secretary for Economic Services, Mr. Piers Jacobs, and China Light and Power Co. officials also attended some of the meetings. A joint statement, issued at the end of the talks through GIS, said they were conducted in a friendly and co-operative atmosphere and covered a number of aspects of the project, including finance and provision of electricity from the power station to HK. It was clear from the discussions that, although the project involved complex proposals, it could offer a valuable opportunity to strengthen economic ties between Britain and China and be beneficial to the prosperity and stability of HK.
The discussions in HK received prominent press coverage. The deputy chairman of China Light, Sir Sydney Gordon, was quoted as saying that the project had political significance to HK, while the Senior British Trade Commissioner in HK, Mr. Christian Adams, said the proposed N-plant would help strengthen ties between China, Britain and HK. A Reuters despatch saying the Chinese Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Minister, Miss Chen Muhua, would visit Britain and France later this month for taiks on the N-plant, was also extensively covered by the Chinese-language press. Another Reuters despatch said that, if an agreement was reached, work on the N-plant would begin next year for completion
in 1991.
During the week, seven papers commented editorially on the project. They were unanimous in their view that it would have positive effects on the outcome of the Sino-British talks. Ming Pao and the Ming Pao Evening News said the N-plant would be the best guarantee of maintaining HK's prosperity. The power station was due for completion in 1991, six years before the NT lease expired. The British and HK Governments would not be so keen on the project if it did not have a bearing on HK's future. In a second editorial, Ming Pao said the joint venture was motivated by the desire to maintain HK's prosperity than by economic considerations. It showed that both Britain and China were sincere in their desire to preserve HK's stability and prosperity. Earlier, Sing Pao, Commercial Daily and the New Evening Post expressed confidence that a satisfactory agreement would be reached. Commercial Daily added the hope that such co-operation could be extended to other areas.
But the Financial Daily and the Express were worried that power charges would go up as a result of purchasing electricity from China.
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