MFN status.
We have therefore urged the Chinese not to get
this issue out of proportion.
I thought that you might find it helpful to have this frank account of what we have been saying to the Chinese: it
might be useful as a quarry for your own response to them.
On 7 May the Senate Foreign Relations Committe dropped,
with Senator McConnell's agreement, the requirement for
annual reports on JD implementation. This was replaced by a call for reports, at 18 month intervals, on conditions in Hong Kong of interest to the United States. This has at least taken care of the main Chinese point, although they will no doubt still be dissatisfied, have difficultier wilt the 8i21.
ALASTAIR GOODLAD
ARPAUH/2
MP3-ASH