TNAG-1056-FCO40-1306-Trade-relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-the-EEC-1981 — Page 45

CONFIDENTIAL

Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH

file. (5)

HICK 121/12

RECIVO IN REGSTRY NO. 51 13 APR 1981

DESK OFFICER

Telephone 01-

INDEX

PA

Dr D C Wilson

Political Adviser

Government Secretariat HONG KONG

Your reférence

Our reference

Date

See

9 April 1981

David

EC/CHINA RELATIONS:

URANIUM

Bo

toweeks.

BJ

NOTGA

"week

Маз

1. I had a visit recently from a member of the staff of DG XVII of the EC Commission in Brussels whom I had known when I was posted there.

2.

He told me that the Commission had been invited by the Chinese Embassy in Brussels to send a team to China to look at the potential for uranium exploration,

3. My contact, Ross Aitken, said that the Commission had reacted warmly to the idea and had decided to go ahead with the visit but without, at this stage, informing member states. However, DGI (External Relations) were woefully ignorant on China and the visitors were very anxious to have a general briefing before entering the country. The normal procedure would be to approach the Presidency and be briefed on the spot. However, there was a major snag. The Dutch occupied the Presidency but were in bad odour with the Chinese following the decision to go ahead with the sale of submarines to Taiwan. It would not do, therefore, for Commission visitors to be seen consorting with the Dutch Embassy in Peking. Nor could they seek briefing from the Embassy of any other member state (e.g. ourselves) since this might give offence to the Dutch and would in any case be contrary to Chinese wishes since the impression that they had given was that they wanted to keep the matter on a strictly Commission/China basis. (Perhaps Michael Atkinson could comment on the extent to which the submarine row has impaired the ability of the Dutch to carry out Presidency functions in Peking).

4.

-

In view of all this, the two Commission officials leading the visit - Michael Davis, Director of the Nuclear Directorate, and Aitken, who are both British wondered whether they might be given a briefing in Hong Kong before going into China. To follow correct Community procedure would require them to seek this from the Dutch Consul-General. However, they doubted that this would give them much real insight and asked whether they could be briefed by the British authorities there, both on the general political situation in China and on Chinese resources policy. Although they would be accompanied to China by two other Commission officials - Bourdeau and Ting - as well as some national consultants from member states, the briefing would be kept informal and restricted to Davies and Aitken.

I said that I was slightly surprised that this request had come to me directly rather than through UKREP Brussels, but understood that the

5.

/approach

CONFIDENTIAL

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