CODE 18-77
AWO Ltd.
7:84
KK 020/2
2 ONO 1986 Ur
DESK OFFICEA
RESTRICTED
Real 2014
Reference......
33
INDEX
Mr Ofr FED
CC
PA
Action Taken
1422/9
zzla
Mr Layden UKD
Mr Brinkley Soviet Dept
Mr Price News Dept
CHINESE AMBASSADOR'S TALK TO THE FCWA
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cnf/comad 07012
1 I was invited to a lunch given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Writers' Association today in honour of the Chinese Ambassador, where the latter made a short informal speech about UK/Chinese relations. I gathered the occasion was designed as something of a curtain-raiser for the Queen's Visit.
2 The Ambassador, casting aside his prepared text, gave a light-hearted, skilful and endearing performance in good English. He spoke of looking forward to the Royal Visit, and mentioned that he had been allowed to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia. He said bilateral relations were now the "best ever" and that mutual understanding had made great strides since the 1950's. There were no problems in political relations; good progress had been made on Hong Kong since the Joint Declaration, with some notable successes eg on GATT, and Hong Kong business was thriving. It was a pity that the UK invested so little directly in Hong Kong compared with the Japanese and Americans (graceful tribute to Sir E Youde's speech last week). UK/Chinese trade was growing fast, with a number of small to medium joint ventures, and it was noteworthy that a contract had just been signed for the import of Chinese colour TVs. Scientific, cultural, educational exchanges were good with 1400 Chinese students in the UK already and more to come thanks to the new scholarship scheme set up in June this
On Chinese internal affairs, the Ambassador said only that his country wished to build up a successful socialist society in its own way, not bound by any outside dogma.
3 In a brief question and answer session, the Ambassador said that while Sino-Soviet relations, were improving on the economic and cultural fronts a Deng/Gorbachev Summit was not possible while the three obstacles remained. Asked why China was now cultivating Nicaragua but had previously welcomed Pinochet, the Ambassador said with marvellous aplomb that China believed in self-determination for all countries without outside intervention and maintained normal diplomatic relations in consequence with both the countries in question. He denied that China had supplied arms direct to Iran, saying that his country wanted an early end to the war between its two friends in the Gulf, although he could not guarantee that arms might not have reached the combatants through a third party. Asked about nervousness in
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