MR WOOD IN Miss thith fi, aper
STRICTED.
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3/12 (ME.
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FED
Ms Major
MITED
Conveyed in geneal terms to Bit.
делкой
fa
270
82
CODE 18-77
CONCORDE FLIGHT
17/11
1.
JIANG
As agreed at Monday's meeting, I raised this when I called on Zhang Enzhu of the MFA Western European Department on other business this morning. I explained what had happened, and said I thought it was rather sad that Concorde could not come since it would have been such a nice symbolic and popular event and an attraction for the media. I hoped it was not any problem of general principle that had stood in the way. Equally, if CAAC and/or the Transport Ministry were worried about technical details we would have preferred to be able to hold at least one meeting to see if we could find a way round them. I asked if Zhang could help us get a better idea of what the reasons were so that, even if this year's decision could not be reopened, we might be able to secure a better outcome on another occasion.
2. Zhang said he had not previously heard any of this, but would check the facts with CAAC and the Ministry of Transport and let me know. He could not imagine there had been any problem of a political nature, since our bilateral relations were so excellent, and suspected rather that CAAC had been influenced by technical worries about runways etc. He did not dissent from my comment that mere practical inconvenience should not be allowed to swing the issue without the more political "pros" also being weighed in the balance.
17 November, 1987
CC:
HMA
Alyson Ik Bailes
Miss A Bailes
RESTRICTED
МКС 180
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
14 DEC 1987
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
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