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Mr Store HKD.
Thank you ?
Private Secretary,
fecretary
From:
M V Stone
Date:
Cc:
Hong Kong Department
12 June 1991
PS/Lord Caithness
Sir J Coles
Mr Burns
Mr Cox, HKD
CALL ON THE SECRETARY OF STATE BY SIR ADRIAN SWIRE, 10 JUNE
1.
Sir Adrian Swire, accompanied by Mr Duncan Bluck and
Mr Michael Miles, called on the Secretary of State to report
his recent discussions with the Chinese leadership.
Mr Burns was also present. The points Sir Adrian made were
exactly in line with those he made to Mr McLaren, reported by Peking in their telno 163. The main points raised were:
(a) Premier Li Peng had given Sir Adrian over an hour and
was in good form. He had said that Hong Kong needed an
airport but that it should not be too extensive. He said
that China did not challenge the site and that agreement
overall had almost been reached but that a snag had arisen.
Li said that he thought the Hong Kong Government no longer
wished to proceed with the project because of the high
inflation rate there.
(b) Li showed considerable interest in Cathay Pacific's
plans for the future. While Li professed to welcome British investment in Hong Kong more so than Japanese investment he clearly viewed the specific Cathay plans as another
British rip-off: the use of Rolls Royce engines and Airbus bodies. Sir Adrian would send Li papers spelling out the
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