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irritated by US withdrawal of funds from the UN Family
Planning Programmes as a mark of displeasure at China's
alleged birth control policy of forced abortion.
3. China continues to see Soviet expansion as a serious
threat to her security and maintains there can be no
normalisation of relations with the Soviet Union until
the "three obstacles" (Soviet occupation of Afghanistan,
Soviet support for the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia
and the Soviet military presence near the Chinese border
and in Mongolia) have been removed. Gorbachev's speech
in Vladivostok in July 1986 made clear Soviet willingness
to improve relations, and held out the possibility of a
new approach to the border dispute. Deng Xiaoping
replied publicly that China also wished to see an
improvement in relations and reiterated the need for
progress on the "three obstacles", particularly Soviet
support for the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia.
Meanwhile, China is prepared to do business with Russia.
Economic, technical and cultural relations have continued
to develop with two way trade rising from 2.3 billion
dollars in 1985 to 2.6 billion dollars in 1986 (China's
figures).
4.
Since the summer of 1986 there has however been rapid
development of China's Government and Party relations
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