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the Chinese. We run the danger of losing the goodwill and
We risk either the French or the
support of Lord Kadoorie.
we
Americans seeking to make a pre-emptive bid on their own -
know that both the French turbine company Alsthom and
Westinghouse's turbine division have made overtures to the
Chinese. And if we had to go to the negotiating table at short
notice in the near future we could find ourselves unprepared:
detailed position on certain technical questions and on a
financial package cannot be finalised until we know with which
partner we may be working.
a
7 Nevertheless, despite these risks, my assessment is that for
the present we should continue to pursue both routes and seek to
bring the American option to a state of readiness for negotiation
comparable to the French option. The primary advantage in
pursuing this course is that it would enable the UK to keep its
negotiating strategy as flexible as possible. It is clear that
some elements at least within the Chinese authorities are seeking
to keep their own negotiating options as wide as possible and I
consider that it would be premature to narrow the options on the UK
side at this stage. Unless and until we have an indication to
the contrary from the customer we should continue to pursue an
Anglo/American package within our range of options since this
holds the prospect of providing a higher proportion of goods and
services from the UK.
5 CEC endorse
GEC endorse this view.
While the French at present appear to
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