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ADAMS SAID THAT HMG STRONGLY WELCOMED JAPANESE (AND US) SUPPORT AND INVOLVEMENT IN THIS PROJECT. THE NEW AIRPORT PROJECT WOULD CONTRIBUTE GREATLY TO THE STABILITY OF HONG KONG. REFERENCE WAS MADE TO THE ANGLO/JAPANESE CONSORTIUM, AND TO MITSUI'S PART IN LINING UP OTHER JAPANESE PARTIES. ANGLO/
JAPANESE COLLABORATION ON THE PROJECT WAS ATTRACTIVE BOTH TO HMG AND TO THE HKG. BUT A SENSIBLE WORK SHARE WAS NEEDED AT LEAST 50PERCENT FOR THE UK. SEDMAN (ECGD) SAID THAT, THOUGH IT WAS EARLY DAYS AND THE DETAILS WERE UNCLEAR, ECGD WAS KEEN TO PLAY A BIG PART IN THE PROJECT. WE ASKED THE VISITORS ABOUT THEIR DISCUSSIONS EARLIER IN THE WEEK WITH EXIM BANK. JAIDO REPORTED THAT US INDUSTRY WAS VERY KEEN ON THE HONG KONG AIRPORT PROJECT, BUT PROBABLY MORE ON THE AIRPORT ITSELF THAN ON THE FIXED LINK. SO THE QUESTION OF GUARANTEES LOOKED LESS
IMPORTANT TO US COMPANIES.
5. JAIDO ASKED ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HONG KONG AND THE
REST OF CHINA AFTER 1997. THEIR INTEREST WAS OF COURSE PARTLY
POLITICAL, BUT ALSO IN THE FACT THAT THE PRECISE ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SOUTHERN CHINA AND HONG KONG AFTER 1997 WILL HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON TRAFFIC ETC. WE SAID THAT WE WERE CONFIDENT THAT HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC ROLE WOULD BE MAINTAINED AFTER 1997, AND THAT THE HKG WAS COMMITTED TO GOING AHEAD WITH THE AIRPORT FOR BOTH COMMERCIAL AND POLITICAL REASONS. MARSDEN (FCO) SAID THAT THE HKG WAS FULLY BRIEFING THE PRC ON THE RATIONALE FOR THE AIRPORT PROJECT, THE HANDLING OF FUNDING ETC. THE PRC WAS STUDYING THE PAPERS WHICH HAD BEEN PROVIED, AND THERE WAS EVERY HOPE THAT THEY WOULD GIVE THE PROJECT THEIR FULL SUPPORT. JAIDO SAID THAT IDEALLY THEY WOULD LIKE PRC INVESTMENT IN THE PROJECT: BUT THEY WOULD CERTAINLY NEED SOME SORT OF POSITIVE REACTION. WE UNDERLINED HMG'S AND HKG'S VIEW THAT THE AIRPORT WAS IN THE PRC'S INTEREST. IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT THERE WOULD BE QUESTIONING, BUT THERE WERE SIGNS OF A MORE POSITIVE PRC VIEW. THE PRC'S PRIME INTEREST WAS IN THE SHEER SCALE OF THE PROJECT AND IN THE FINANCIAL BURDEN THAT WOULD RESULT: WE ALLUDED ALSO TO THE FACT THAT IT HAD NOT BEEN A VERY EASY PERIOD FOR DISCUSSION OF THESE MATTERS WITH THE PRC.
6. IN SUMMARY, JAIDO SAID IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE AIRPORT NEEDED TO BE AN INTERNATIONAL EFFORT, BUT THEY WERE UNCERTAIN ABOUT THE SHAPE OF COLLABORATION. THEY SAID THEY VERY MUCH
WANTED TO AVOID JAPANESE COMPETITION IE DIFFERENT JAPANESE COMPANIES SEPARATELY PURSUING THE SAME WORK. WE ASKED OBLIQUELY WHETHER MITSUI WAS THE RIGHT PARTNER FOR THE
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