TNAG-1156-FCO40-1436-Visits-by-FCO-Ministers-to-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 140

CONFIDENTIAL

8.

Before leaving China, Mr Atkins spent a day in

Shanghai and was able to meet representatives of the

British business community in China's largest city and

most important commercial centre, He was also able to

reinforce our good relations with its influential Mayor,

who spoke with satisfaction of his recent visit to Britain.

9.

This was a successful and useful visit.

It gave

Mr Atkins a direct personal impression of China and the

main strands of Chinese foreign policy. This is worth

any number of despatches and telegrams. It enabled him to

tackle, and to make some progress on, the delicate Hong Kong

issue, the first progress we have made for some time. The

talks confirmed that Anglo-Chinese relations are excellent, and

have laid a good basis for the continuation of the development

of our relations at a high level both by the Prime Minister's

visit here next September, and by reminding the Chinese of the

existence of several outstanding invitations to Chinese

Ministers to visit Britain. In sum, the visit provided an

excellent start to Sino/British relations in 1982.

10.

k

I am sending copies of this despatch (without enclosures)

to the Governor of Hong Kong (Personal) and to H M Ambassadors

at Tokyo and Seoul.

I am, My Lord

Yours faithfully

Fixcy Cocadore

Сегалай

PERCY CRADOCK

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CONFIDENTIAL