TNAG-0138-FCO40-174-Conduct-of-Hong-Kong-commercial-relations-1969 — Page 204

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5.

In the case of the current consultations with the Norwegians and Jwedes the above practice appeuro to have been changed in certain respects, namely,

6.

(a) the consultations have been conducted on

our sile in tanden, with the Board of Trade in the chair (rather than the Commonwealth Office or Hong Kong);

(b)

(c)

(a)

decisions in some cases have been made alaost unilaterally by the Board of Trade;

in making these decisions Hong Kong's interests and the views of the Hong Kong Government have not been taken sufficiently into account; and

(the obverse of (c)) Board of Trade representatives have tended to see only U.. and wider international interests and not to have sufficiently understood the preoccupations of Hong Kong.

Largely as a result of the above, the consult- ations with the Scandinavians have not only been unduly protracted but, in the absence of a single spokesman on our side, the most has not been made of our negotiating position. Furthermore, a serious risk has been taken of so alienating the Scandinaviums that they might have decided (and ay yet decide) to take action which could have serious consequences for Hong Kong.

7.

The conslusion that can be drawn from the above is that a distinction should be made between wider policy issues involved in Hong Kong's external commercial relations and their day to day management, including the conduct of negotiations with our trading partners. While it may from time to time be necessary for the policy which the Hong Kong Government would wish to pursue in the commercial relations sphere to be modified in the light of wider British or international interests that may be involved, there secus to be no reason why, once policy has been decided, the Hong Kong Government should not be entrusted with its day to day management and negotiations. Indeed, this approach would fit in best with what is both politically possible and practically feasible. The conduct of external commercial relations can raise delicate political issues in Hong Kong, The problems involved are also detailed and complex and only Hong Kong Civil Servants can be expected to have the necessary expertise and nowledge of the factual details.

3.

This does not mean that, in the conduct of negotiations, Hong Kong should not operate under H..G.'s aogis. It has always been the case hitherto, when negotiations have been conducted in foreign capitals (or even in Geneva Where there is a Hong Kong Section as an integral part of the British Nission), for the Hong Kong team to operate free the British Embassy or Mission and for at least one member of the Ambassy or Mission concerned to be present at the talks. Neither does it mean that, in all circumstances, a representative of the

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