CONFIDENTIAL
DSR 11C
M
3.
apr
for example,
instrument, not an emotional commitment; / we cannot be
expected to play out our own role in the "Three Worlds
system" on lines prescribed by the Chinese. Misunderstanding
and conflicts of perception may thus well persist, and
as you made clear much will depend on the extent to
which the new leadership keep to the paths they have so
recently embarked upon. Nevertheless, the contacts
my colleagues and I have recently had with the Chinese
bear out your view that there is now hope for much improved
understanding and scope for a good measure of practical
cooperation. Other Western countries, notably the
United States, Canada and the major powers of Western
Europe have clearly come to the same conclusion.
have the Japanese and a growing number of countries in
SE Asia and the Pacific. We do not want to be behind
So too
anyone else in seizing the opportunities which the new
situation may create for us. But in working for greater
contact at all levels, we must not forget the dangers of
concentrating on China to a degree which puts other
equally important relationships in serious jeopardy.
particular, the continuation of antagonism between China
and the Soviet Union means that we have to strike a
particularly delicate balance. Unlike China, we cannot
In
We need
even attempt to be completely self-sufficient.
trade and contact with other countries to survive; and
above all, we need to find a way of living with the
Soviet Union and her allies in Europe and working to
remove the tension between the Warsaw Pact and ourselves,
which is, and must remain, a central feature of our global foreign policy: détente is gentral to our interests, and
Dd 0532000 400 M 5/78 HMSO Bracknell
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