TNAG-0741-FCO40-945-Relations-between-China-and-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 49

of equipment until they had some reason to hope that they would t a favourable hearing from the British Government.

But equally, it was hard for us to initiate the delicate

diplomatic processes of talking to our allies until we knew more about Chinese wishes. In the past a satisfactory

way of proceeding had been for Chinese experts to talk to British industry. They could in turn be relied upon to convey Chinese views to the British Government. Would it be

possible to proceed the same way over Harrier aircraft: for example, although we have been aware of Chinese interest since 1972, we still did not know how many aircraft the Chinese wanted, which version of the Harrier they were interested in, whether they hoped to produce any of the equipment themselves, how much back-up they would require, and over what period they would like to bring the aircraft into service? He was sure that British Aerospace would be prepared to send out a team to China. Alternatively the Chinese could send experts to the UK. However whichever way it took place, he would wish to underline that while such an exchange could in no way constitute a commitment on behalf of HMG to endorse a sale, it did show that' HMG had a positive approach to the idea and genuinely wished to see whether they could meet Chinese

interests.

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