From the
Senior British Trade Commissioner
PERSONAL
CONFIDENTIAL
HKB 182/7
5 September 1991
13/9 كيلو
78)
Sir David Ford KBE LVO JP
Chief Secretary
5/F Main Wing
Central Government Offices Lower Albert Road
HONG KONG
M. Sky 14/1
Mr
M. Mim
Dear David
PADS TENDERS
1.
14
13/1
Thank you for your letter of 4 September. I am grateful for your clarification and assurances. I had not meant to imply in any way that any consortium would be favoured because it included a Chinese partner, but only perhaps that behind the move to extend the period given to consortia seeking to pre- qualify for the airport platform contract to add to their number, was a wish to allow them to take in Chinese firms, following the agreement reached on the Memorandum of Understanding by Sir Percy Cradock in Peking, since prior to that point no Chinese firm had been willing to confirm its participation. I was careful to say in my telno 248 of 22 August, which is the one to which I assume you refer, that this had given the construction industry the perception that competing companies would do well to find a Chinese partner. I did not give that as my view. I based that observation on comments made to me by a number of companies, and the flood of recent requests we have had from participating British companies asking us to help them find Chinese partners.
2.
I do not think there is any essential disagreement between us. I could not fail to be fully alert to the level playing field philosophy and the reasons for it, even if I might prefer a philosophy which said, as many a resident of Yeovil might agree, that there is nothing wrong with a tilting playing field so long as the teams change round at half time (with 1997 perhaps being regarded as half time!)
cc:
You
R A Burns Esq, AUSS, FCO
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Pelen
PW Heap
CA A Adams Esq, Head of PEP, DTI
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