CONFIDENTIAL
Plse PA
Trade Rel
39)
CALL ON THE PRIME MINISTER BY MR NEEDHAM AND LORD PRIOR ON
WEDNESDAY 5 MAY
LIKC 012/4
Hong Kong
X
The Secretary of State and Mr Goodlad briefed Lord Prior
before his most recent visit to Peking on 18 April. The Prime
Minister may wish to tell Lord Prior that the first two rounds
of talks have gone smoothly, but there has been no substantive progress. As expected, the Chinese sought to obtain our
agreement on points of principle. The next round of talks
will be held between 21 and 23 May (after Vice Foreign
Minister Jiang Enzhu returns from accompanying Foreign
Minister Qian Qichen on his trip to Europe).
Chinese Discrimination against Jardines
Jardines have recently obtained clear evidence of
discrimination against them by the Chinese. The GEC-Marconi
representative office in Beijing is exclusively staffed by Jardine Matheson personnel. If Lord Prior raises the question of Chinese discrimination against Jardines, the Prime Minister
could say that we are aware of this and have spoken to the
Chinese Embassy about it. The Embassy in Peking have spoken
to MOFTEC and will also be speaking to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
CONFIDENTIAL
need.5may.B8
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