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pa
HKD 02111
RECEIVES
CISTRY
7 JAN 1992
on DESK OFFICER
INDEX
PA
155110
MDLIAN 5336
#/JAPAN
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FM PEKING
TO PRIORITY F C O
TELNO 20
OF 070838Z JANUARY 92
INFO PRIORITY TOKYO, HONG KONG, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
INFO ROUTINE ACTOR, CANBERRA, BTC HONG KONG, MOSCOW, WASHINGTON INFO ROUTINE PARIS, UKDEL VIENNA, MODUK, PHNOM PENH
China!
FCO TELNOS 800 AND 801 (NOT TO ALL): WATANABE VISIT TO CHINA
SUMMARY
1.
WATANABE WAS WARMLY RECEIVED AT A HIGH LEVEL. JIANG ZEMIN AND WAN LI ARE TO VISIT JAPAN THIS YEAR. EMPEROR INVITED TO VISIT JAPAN. WIDE-RANGING DISCUSSIONS, INCLUDING ON HONG KONG, PROVOKED THE REITERATION OF STANDARD CHINESE POSITIONS. NO NEWS ON NPT OR MTCR. CHINA SOUGHT MORE LOANS AND JAPANESE SUPPORT IN THE WORLD BANK. JAPAN MAY NOW HAVE TO DISTANCE ITSELF FROM US CHINA POLICY AS SINO-US RELATIONS WORSEN.
DETAIL
2.
THE JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER VISITED CHINA FROM 3-6 JANUARY.
WE WERE ASKED IN TURS FOR AN EARLY REPORT. WE WERE BRIEFED ON 6 JANUARY BY THE JAPANESE MINISTER. SAITO SAID WATANABE HAD MET FOREIGN MINISTER QIAN QICHEN, PREMIER LI PENG, PARTY GENERAL SECRETARY JIANG ZEMIN AND VICE PREMIER WU XUEQIAN. HE WAS GIVEN DINNER BY VICE PREMIER TIAN JIYUN. HE WAS WARMLY RECEIVED. WATANABE GAVE LI PENG A LETTER FROM HIS PRIME MINISTER WHICH SAITO SAID SIMPLY INTRODUCED WATANABE AS THE NEW FOREIGN MINISTER. ANOTHER JAPANESE COLLEAGUE SAID THAT IN THE LETTER MIYAZAWA THANKED
LI FOR HIS INVITATION TO VISIT CHINA BUT SET NO DATES FOR A VISIT. MIYAZAWA EMPHASISED THE IMPORTANCE OF HIGH LEVEL BILATERAL CONTACTS IN THE FACE OF RAPID CHANGES IN THE WORLD. YOSHIDA SAID THAT MIYAZAWA WAS UNLIKELY TO VISIT CHINA BEFORE LI PENG RETURNED KAIFU'S VISIT AND THE JAPANESE HAD YET TO INVITE LI TO VISIT.
BILATERAL RELATIONS
3. THE FOCUS WAS ON THIS YEAR'S ANNIVERSARY OF SINO-JAPANESE DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. IT WAS AGREED THAT THERE WOULD BE AN EXCHANGE OF MESSAGES ON 29 SEPTEMBER BETWEEN THE TWO FOREIGN, AND
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