RESTRICTED
HKC 012/4
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
8 FEB 1993
7
137016
MDLOAN 7140
RESTRICTED FM FCO
TO PRIORITY HONG KONG
TELNO 98
OF 041657Z FEBRUARY 93
DESK OFFICER
REGISTRY
INDEX
PA
Action Taken
pa
12
4
INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KUNG
INFO PRIORITY BTC HONG KONG
PERSONAL FOR PS/GH FROM RICKETTS, HKD
72
OUR TELNO 75: APPROACHES BY THE CHINESE EMBASSY TO THE BRITISH BUSINESS COMMUNITY
1. TUR recorded that the Secretary of State had asked that Ambassador Ma be summoned and told of our surprise at his arm-twisting in the business community here.
2.
Sir John Coles duly asked Ma to call on 4 February. Coles said that Ministers had heard reports from a number of British businessmen about approaches made to them by members of the Chinese Embassy. According to our information, the businessmen were told that their companies' business with China could be affected by the state of relations over Hong Kong. Ministers had been surprised by these reports. They did not appear to be consistent with what Zhu Rongji had said to the Prime Minister. We had consistently taken the view that close commercial relations were in the interests of both countries and should not be affected by political considerations. Recent events suggested that the Chinese shared this view: for example the two visits to China by the Minister of Trade: the recent CBTG mission: and the visits by Lords Prior and Young and Sir M Palliser. ALL had been warmly received.
3. Coles continued that we did not understand how a campaign to put pressure on the business community fitted into this wider pattern, or how it could be helpful in resolving our differences and returning to cooperation. We hoped that there would be no more efforts to spread concern in the business community.
4. Ma replied that China did not want the controversy over Hong Kong to affect economic and trade relations. But it was not up to China. The healthy development of Sino-British relations required strict adherence to the Joint Declaration.
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