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10. Mr Buckle (MAFF) said that there had been a number of
problems in the area of livestock importation. Not a great deal
of progress had been made but the Head of the Chinese Animal
Quarantine office would be visiting UK in June. Mr Mosselmans
(ODA, EASD) said that the 1988 Concessional Finance Arrangement
was fully committed. The future of ATP was uncertain. It was
almost certain that a commitment of ATP funds would be made for
the Canton Metro. It was possible that there would be a 4th CFA
at the beginning of 1994. The ODA would prefer to see this
concentrated on environmental projects.
11. Other ODA-funded areas included Technical Consultancy (TC),
English Language Teaching (ELT), Academic Links with China (ALCS)
and training. The annual allocation over the next three years
will rise from £8.4 million to £9.5 million. Future projects
will focus on environmental, good government, and institutional
development. ODA intended to reduce the proportion of the budget
allocated to training and increase the environmental allocation.
12.
Mr Gunesekera (British Council) said that the British
Council was involved in many of the schemes funded by the ODA.
There were now some 4000 Chinese students in the UK. 1000 of
them were funded by the government. 3000 were self-financing or
on scholarships from companies or NGOs.
13.
Mr Muckersie (ECGD) said not a great deal of business had
been signed up in 1992, but there were £240 million of
commitments plus the Shajino C (£400 million) where the necessary guarantee was offered by Singaporean banks. On top of this there
were Airbus orders where ECGD would be called on to cover 20% or
50% of the price depending on whether the planes had Rolls Royce
engines or not. ECGD's £2.2 billion exposure control limit would
soon be under pressure. Treasury would have to be approached to
see if the ceiling could be raised. This would create a problem but Treasury were likely to see China as a better bet than Korea.
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