CONFIDENTIAL
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3 October 1985
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PRIME MINISTER'S MEETING WITH SIR Y. K. PAO
The Prime Minister had a very short meeting with Sir Yue-Kong Pao this afternoon.
Sir Yue-Kong raised the Ning-bo steel project, saying
He himself had met that the early phases were going well. with the British consultants and they would shortly be
The way visiting Ning-bo to talk to the local authorities.
The would soon be clear for a feasibility study to start. Chinese Government would want to send a delegation to London to discuss details.
The main subject which Sir Yue-Kong wanted to raise was his proposal to establish a trust fund to enable more Chinese students to study in the United Kingdom. He himself was prepared to put up US $10 million for this purpose provided that the Chinese and British Governments were ready to do likewise. He would hope also for private sector support. If the Prime Minister was agreeable in principle, he would put his proposal to Deng Xiaoping. The Prime Minister said that she thought it an interesting idea, but she would like to get the advice of her Ministerial colleagues before committing herself.
Sir Yue-Kong gave the Prime Minister an account of his activities as Vice Chairman of the Basic Law Drafting Group and told her that he had been invited to become Chairman of the Basic Law Consultative Committee in Hong Kong. He was reluctant to take on this latter task which would be very time-consuming.
I would be grateful for early advice on Sir Yue-Kong's proposal about students. There is some risk that he will take the Prime Minister's definition of it as an interesting idea as endorsement. It might be best to have a draft letter which the Prime Minister could send him.
CONFIDENTIAL