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FM FCO
TO DESKBY 15093OZ UKREP BRUSSELS
TELNO 97
OF 141833Z APRIL 93
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, HONG KONG, BTC HONG KONG
INFO IMMEDIATE JLG HONG KONG
157025 MDHOAN 1649
OTI.
FCO TELNO 92: EC/CHINA: HONG KONG AND BILATERAL TRADE
SUMMARY
see (20)
1. Instructions to raise Chinese threats to disrupt trade with the UK at Council Asia Working Group and separately with the Commission.
DETAIL
2.
Now that the Chinese have agreed to talks over Hong Kong later this month, we would hope that they will put on
ice their threat to disrupt bilateral trade over the Hong Kong dispute - although the issue may well surface again if the talks fail to make progress or break down completely. There is some evidence of apparent discrimination against British firms, although the overall picture remains unclear.
L.J
3. Ministers have agreed that we should take advantage of the opportunity offered by the Council Asia Working Group on 15 Apri to put down a low-key marker with partners and the Commission on this issue. We would be grateful therefore if the UK representative would record, during any discussion on trade with China, that we had noted with concern the comments of certain Chinese Leaders on this issue, that we noted that these comments were similar to earlier threats against another community partne (ie. France) and that we would be watching the situation carefully having in mind, in particular, the EC position on China's GATT application.
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It would be helpful if the Commission could also be asked privately to use the occasion of the 28/29 April EC-China Joint Commission to speak quietly in the margins to the Chinese about their surprise at the use of such threats.
5. Our aim in engaging the discreet involvement of the
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