HICC 012/45
STRY
APR 1993
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
REGISTRY PA Action Taken
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(2) M Mamis
Buste
Mr Davies
FED
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From:
PS/Mr Goodlad
Date: 25 March 1993
CC:
PS
-to tear in mind ti
I're faxed to Way Kary
Sir J Coles
Mr Hum
Mr Ricketts, HKD
CALL ON MR GOODLAD BY LORD PRIOR: 25 MARCH 1993
1. Lord Prior called on the Minister this morning at his own request. He raised China and Malaysia (reported separately).
2. Lord Prior said that GEC still hoped to secure the Canton metro project, with ODA help. But everyone was nervy because of the Hong Kong angle. Before Christmas, Ambassador Ma had warned him that GEC should distance themselves from Jardines, their Peking agents for several defence contracts. In reality, Jardines had not been doing much for GEC but their contract had a year to run and it would be expensive to break it. When he had said this to the Ambassador, Ma had checked with Peking: the message back had been that the Chinese did not mind especially if the contract ran to its termination date but no longer.
He
3.
The professional friendship between China and GEC persisted. Lord Prior said he had been due to visit Peking on 24 March but had delayed because of the NPC meeting. would now visit on 17 April and expected to meet Li Peng and Zhu Rongji. He had seen Ambassador Ma on 22 March in connection with the visit, when the latter had made the points in the attached notes (which Lord Prior left with the Minister). Ma had said specifically that China was "not prepared to have members of a local authority as members of the [British negotiating] team". Lord Prior had told Ma that this placed him in a very difficult position, as a personal friend of the Governor and a supporter of HMG.
4.
Lord Prior added that "we're worried because we're greedy!" There was an opportunity for £9-10 billion worth of work in China on power stations. He was optimistic that GEC would secure a large slice of this business. But operators
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