practical and psychological. Wong did not choose seriously to contoot these arguments and I think Hong Kong do not now
challenge HMG's view on the desirability of a Maritime Agreement. Wong was sceptical, on a practical level, about the lovel of trade which would actually be generated by China's "economic renaissance". His view (shared, I must say, by most of the shipowners I spoke to in Hong Kong) is that China has very limited potential for international tride in the short term. The lack of adequate internal organisation and the cumbersome bureaucratic machinery of the Chinese Government will be severe inhibiting factors. It is widely felt in long on that it will be some time before China will give up established patterns of , trade which use Hong Kong as an outlet.
A
5 All in all, I now have the impression that the "llon; Kong dimension" is not a serious obstacle to the negotiation of a Maritime Agreement with China. Hong Kong's concerns are essenti- ally practical (based on the defence of certain economic interests) rather than political. Wong's view is that the Chinese will probably not agree to the formal inclusion of Hong Kong within a UK-China Agreement. Matters have got easier more recently and Hong Kong's de facto status seems essentially recognised. But the Hong Kong Government view now coincides with that of GCBS - calling for adequate safeguards on a commercial level but showing some flexibility as to the form of instrument of understanding through which these safeguards might be obtained.
6 This is not to say that we may not still have arruments with Hong Kong over the nature of the safeguards. least the sort of argument which can take place on the practical
But this is at level. Wong requested that any UK delegation which went to Peking to negotiate a Maritime Agreement should include a Hong Kong representative, I gave a non-committal reply but I suspect it would be in our own interest to take someone from Hong Kong's Marine Department along.
7
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In general, this was a useful meeting For the moment I think the needs of Hong Kong constitute less serious difficulty an the need to persuade the Chinese towards some sort of under- standing on the cargo-string aspect.
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A J Pryor SP3
28 June 1979
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