TNAG-0963-FCO40-1182-Air-services-between-China--Hong-Kong-and-the-UK-1980 — Page 23

CODE 18-77

SS 8/78

доровь

Mr Clift

CONFIDENTIAL

(10)

Reference

UK/PRC AIR SERVICES

1.

HKI 184/2

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 2 4 JUL 1980

DESK OFFICER INDEX

REGISTRY

2417

PA Action Taken 24

I attended a meeting, initially of officials his morning at the DOT to discuss the options available to British Airways over their present impasse with CẢAG on the trunk route.

2.

The only point of direct interest to us was the mention by DOT officials of the possible refusal, as a bargaining point, to allow Chinese regional services into Hong Kong, except from Guangdong, to proceed until BA had been allowed to commence flying the trunk route. Both Mr McLaren and I put down very strong markers against this. We used two grounds: firstly that the regional issue was separate from the trunk route one and, secondly and more strongly, that it was a matter of deliberate HMG policy not to use Hong Kong as a lever in UK/Chinese disputes. The DOT officials agreed to leave it at that but with the warning that they might wish to return to the possibility at a later date.

3. We were then joined by Mr Wilson of BA. His only interesting, if not unexpected, comment in respect of Hong Kong was that, since the CAA had licensed BCal to fly to Hong Kong in April and more recently the Secretary of State for Trade had added CPA and Laker, BA no longer felt any concern for Hong Kong, i.e. they no longer felt obliged not to compete with CPA on the regional routes. Taiwan was specifically mentioned.

26 June 1980

Pa

26.6

Invidiamm

P J Williamson

Hong Kong and General Department

CONFIDENTIAL