Scanlon: It has been suggested by some people that you don't have very much experience of the territory. Would you regard this as a handicap in your job - not knowing the territory very well?
Mr Renton: There are two things I would like to Buy about that. Arst of that:: I have been fortunate enough to have visited HK several tipes in the 608 and early 70s as a busineauman. So at least the business community is not unknown to me at all. That is obviously some ;
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advantage. Secondly, lo every goverment, ministers do move around. Richard Luce has been looking after pis portfolio at the Noreign Office extremely well and thoroughly for a/number of years. I can well understand that the Prime Minister decided that it was a suitable moment for him to take on some new and different responsibilities which is what he has done. And that is a fact of life. I would just like to... a fact of governmental life throughout the world. What I would like to strese though ja that my appointment and I say again I very much appreciate the honour and the interest in assuming the responsibilities for the X portfolio under Geoffrey Howe. My appointment doesn't represent any change whatsoever in the importance of IlX in relation to British Government policies, absolutely none.
Scumlon: All the same, now that the agreement between Britain and China had been signed, do you think the job will be a significantly different one to the one that Mr Luce was called on to do over the pust two years? Hill the emphasis be very different?
Mr Kentont i am not going to answer that question until I know more about the specific problems in times ahead. I know about the agreement. I listen with great Intorest to the debate in the House of Commons about it. I now want to bone up myself very carefully on wist are the particular problems, the details of those problems that lie in the period ahead after the agreement had beon signed.
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Scanlon: As we know, your responsibility will be a very wide-ranging one within the Foreign Office. You won't just be looking after HK, but also affaira in this part of the world, flow much emphasis do you expect to be putting on to HK in relation to the other countries in your
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