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5. On substance, we believe that the meeting should cover the full range of our dealings with China, namely Hong Kong; other bilateral issues; and international topics. On Hong Kong, the constitutional issues will clearly be the main focus. This meeting should not become part of the negotiations. The objective should rather be to give political impetus to the talks by reinforcing the main points in the Secretary of State's message to Qian, ie that we are not prepared to go on arguing endlessly about principles; and that if the Chinese side are willing to tell us what arrangements they could accept in practice, they will find us open-minded and constructive. The fixing of a bilateral will probably mean that we do not get a written response to the Secretary of State's message from Qian beforehand. It will also mean that the talks in Peking have to mark time, at least for their first day and possibly for the whole of the third round. But we consider that neither of these points outweighs the case for a meeting with Qian. We believe that the Secretary of State should also touch briefly on JLG issues, and the airport (we will be making public in Hong Kong on 21 May our latest proposals to the Chinese side for resolving the financial dispute).
6. On the bilateral front, we would anticipate a brief review of UK-China relations including both trade and human rights issues, (including a mention of Tibet). Particular priorities on the agenda of international topics would be non-proliferation issues including North Korea and missile sales. Other topics could include Cambodia, Vietnam and Bosnia.
7.
Our Embassy in Peking have pointed out that there remains a question-mark over Qian's attendance at the New York meeting since the Chinese are not keen on the proposal to hold such a meeting and Qian himself may be tied up with a visit by the Portuguese Foreign Minister. I do not think that this need deter us from sounding them out about a meeting with the Secretary of State. Qian may well conclude that he should attend the UN meeting once it is clear that it is going to happen, particularly if there is a chance for bilaterals in the margins. We are however urgently checking exactly what his commitments are to the Portuguese visit.
8. On logistics, I understand that it will not be possible for the Secretary of State to travel to New York on 20 May, because of the 3rd reading of the Maastricht Bill. The plan is therefore that he would fly out on Concorde on the morning of 21 May, and return overnight to the UK (last flight from New York leaves at 2100). The timetable for the Security Council if it takes place that day is not yet fixed. The meeting could be morning or afternoon. Any arrangement with the Chinese will therefore have to be provisional. But for
sec.coun.MIN.NJH/JRB
CONFIDENTIAL