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invite brief exchanges on Korea (Brief 8d) and South Asia (Brief 8e).
CALLS
15. The calls on Deng Xiaoping and Hu Yaobang (Brief Nos 3 and 4) will necessarily be shorter and far more dependent on atmosphere than substance. But the meeting with Deng will probably be the most important of the whole visit, particularly in the Hong Kong context. Separate briefs are provided for each, distilling the general lines of the briefing for the formal talks. The conversation with Deng will only be partly about Hong Kong. The objective, as with Zhao, is to create a climate of trust. In view of Deng's impatience with detail and latent suspicions of our intentions, our practical concerns could best be touched upon more lightly; the defensive line on our administration of Hong Kong up to 1997 may well be needed. The meeting with Hu (who had little direct involvement in the negotiations and has never before received senior British visitors) could be weighted towards bilateral relations in general
and the Chinese internal scene. The lunch with President Li
Xiannian, who has also had little direct involvement in UK-China relations will be largely a courtesy occasion; conversation will probably be general.
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