TNAG-0566-FCO40-699-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-change-in-Chinese-leadership-1976 — Page 2

BY BAG

CONFIDENTIAL

Government

22

SCR 2/4841/66

I C Orr Esq

Far Eastern Department FCO

CHINESE FOREIGN POLICY

RESORY OD. 5* :9 NOV 1276

AXC010/801/1

ধ

12 November, 1976

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Further to John Jerson's interesting teleletter (reference 020/11) of 29 October to Popplewell, you may like to know that when Alan Donald probed our usual contact from the NCNA on Jino/Soviet relations at a meeting which we held with them yesterday to discuss other matters, Tan was laconically firm in emphasising that there was no change in the Chinese position. If the Russians wished to be friendly, then let them start on the border and solve the outstanding problems there, or else the situation would inevitably remain unsettled.

2.

Speaking more generally, Tan said with some conviction that the party under Chairman Hua would carry out Chairman Mao's foreign policy. Alan Donald referred to liong Kong with the implication that the status quo would be allowed to remain. lan, warming to his subject, drew to our attention a remark made by Governor Grantham in the 50's: 'No news is good news for Hong Kong'. No doubt as an ex-Hong Kong Government servant with a better knowledge of our back files than we have ourselves Tan's quotation was substantially accurate, but we do not remember him using this phrase before. He ended this part of the conversation by emphasising the importance of maintaining friendly relations between our two sides.

co

Hong Kong Department FCO

Chancery Peking Chancery MOSCOV

(CDS Drace-Francis)