CONFIDENTIAL
Chinese Ministers and visits to places of interest in the
city, including Peking University. The longest item was
two sessions of talks, altogether four and a half hours, with
Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Canming. The main topics were
Poland, Sino-Soviet relations, Afghanistan, Sino-US relations,
Indochina, Korea and Sino-Indian relations. The full records
of these and Mr Atkins' other official telks here have been
sent to the Department.
4.
The talks showed the considerable similarity of
Chinese views with our own over a wide range of international
issues. Korea was a natural exception. Here Zhang spoke,
as for public consumption, on China's support for Pyongyang
and was uninformative about the Chinese Prime Minister's
recent trip there. On Poland, the Chinese were cautious,
though grateful for information on the Community's assessment
and actions. On the Soviet Union, Zhang rehearsed China's
familiar view of the global threat the Russians pose. In
answer to a question, Mr Atkins defined Western Europe's
attitude to the Soviet Union as a "suspicious" one. Zhang
then confirmed that, so long as the Soviet Union continued
to pursue hegemonistic policies, there would be no possibility
of improving Sino-Soviet relations. He said China was not
merely suspicious about Soviet intentions but, rather, "sure"
that the Soviets wished to act as a world overlord.
5.
The Vice Minister spoke very firmly about Sino-US
relations, stressing the danger of "stagnation or retrogression"
China's tolerance was limited and the present situation i.e.
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CONFIDENTIAL
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