TNAG-0741-FCO40-945-Relations-between-China-and-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 73

Plave. Chin file

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RECEIVES

1 3 MAR 1978

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40.58

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PA

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OFBK OFFICER INDEX

China (Foreign Minister)

9. Mr. MacFarquhar asked the Secre- tary of State for Foreign and Common- wealth Affairs if he will invite the Chinese Foreign Minister to visit the United Kingdom.

Mr. Luard: My right hon. Friend has already renewed his predecessor's invita- tion to the Chinese Foreign Minister to visit the United Kingdom. No date has yet been fixed.

Mr. MacFarquhar:

Whenever that

meeting takes place, will my right hon. Friend consider it proper to suggest that when Mr. Hua Kuo-Feng visits France he should also visit Britain?

Mr. Luard: I am sure that my right hon. Friend has heard my hon. Friend's question and will take note of what he has said. We hope that the Chinese Foreign Minister will visit as soon as possible. My right hor. Friend is him- self hoping to visit China soon.

Mr. Welsh: When the right hon. Gentleman next meets Mr. Huang Hua will he discuss China's highly successful foreign aid policy to the poorer Third World countries, in order to draw lessons for the United Kingdom based on the Chinese experience and encourage tech- nological aid programmes to such poorer Third World countries?

Mr. Luard: As someone who has studied Chinese policy for quite a long time, I agree that China's aid programme has a lot that is interesting and perhaps of some value to us. We are ready aware of the kind of programmes in which China has engaged.

Mr. Hooley: When the "oreign Minis- ter of China comes for conversations,

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Oral Answers

22 FEBRU

will my right hon. Friend discuss with him the anachronistic nineteenth century Colonial regime in Hong Kong?

Mr. Luard: I think that my hon. Friend knows that we have an extremely friendly relationship with the Chinese Government with regard to the situation in Hong Kong. No major problerns arise in connection with that relationship at present. It is most unlikely that this will be a subject for serious discussion between the Chinese Foreign Minister and our own Foreign Secretary.

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