234
GR 1350
CONFIDENTIAL
FM PEKING 06075OZ SEP 82
TO PRIORITY FCO
CONFIRICTEN MAN -- Reg
TELEGRAM NUMBER 500 OF 6 SEPTEMBER:
7 SEP NOZ
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG PERSONAL FOR GOVERNOR)
NR
MY TELNO 498: 22 SEPTEMBER SPEECH
Enscer
a
P.c. (Chave
spchen to
RED about pan 10 in the light of Húrel
997)
1. YOUR EXCELLENCY, PREMIER ZHAO, YOUR EXCELLENCIES, AMBASSADOR, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
2. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS, MR PREMIER. I AM A DOUBLY PRIVILEGED VISITOR. NOT ONLY IS THIS THE SECOND TIME IN FIVE YEARS THAT I HAVE VISITED CHINA TO ENJOY YOUR WARM AND GENEROUS HOSPI- TALITY, BUT I FIND TO MY ASTONISHMENT THAT I AM THE FIRST BRITISH PRIME MINISTER IN OFFICE TO DO SO. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE HAVE BEEN IN ANY WAY NEGLECTFUL OF CHINA. QUITE THE REVERSE, AS THE STREAM OF HIGH-LEVEL VISITORS IN BOTH DIRECTIONS TESTIFIES. NEVER- THELESS, IT IS AN OMISSION WHICH I AM PROUD TO BE ABLE TO RECTIFY AND I HOPE MY PRESENCE HERE TONIGHT IS A PROOF, IF ANY PROOF WERE NEEDED, OF THE IMPORTANCE WE IN BRITAIN ATTACH TO RELATIONS WITH YOUR GREAT COUNTRY.
3. IT IS A LONG WAY FROM PEKING TO LONDON. THE DISTANCE HAS SOME – TIMES SEEMED COMPOUNDED BY HISTORICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL AND POLITICAL GAPS IN OUR OUTLOOKS. BUT IT IS MANY YEARS SINCE OUR TWO WORLDS FIRST TOUCHED. SINCE THEN GENERATIONS OF MY COUNTRYMEN HAVE BEEN FASCINATED BY CHINA AND THE TRADITION OF STUDY OF YOUR CULTURE, LANGUAGE, HISTORY AND ART WHICH FLOURISHES SO WELL IN BRITAIN TODAY IS A TRADITION GOING BACK NOW OVER CENTURIES. IN THE PAST MANY OF OUR CONTACTS HAVE LED TO MUTUAL ENRICHMENT. OTHER EPISODES ARE BEST ALLOWED TO RECEDE INTO HISTORY. TODAY IT WOULD BE FOOLISH TO DENY THAT OUR POLITICAL PHILOSOPHIES REMAIN VERY DIFFERENT. BUT IT WOULD BE EQUALLY WRONG TO OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT OUR UNDERSTANDING HAS GROWN ENORMOUSLY AND THAT OUR INTERESTS OVER VERY WIDE AREAS ARE CLOSE.
4. I COME TO CHINA AT AN IMPORTANT TIME FOR YOU WHEN YOUR HISTORIC 12TH CONGRESS HAS LAID DOWN NEW GUIDELINES FOR YOUR ADMINISTRATION AND YOUR PLANS FOR CONSTRUCTION. I HAVE BEEN STRUCK IN THE CHINA OF TODAY BY THE MOOD OF REALISM AND THE PRACTICAL DETERMINATION TO ACHIEVE STEADY, WELL-BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITHIN YOUR OWN SYSTEM OF BELIEFS AND PRINCIPLES. I HAVE TOUCHED ON DIFFERENCES BEETWEEN US BUT I CAN ALSO SPEAK OF SHARED VALUES. IN PARTICULAR, I THINK IT TRUE TO SAY THAT WE BOTH SET PRACTICE ABOVE THEORY AND WE BOTH SET REALISM ABOVE ILLUSION.
5. IN PRACTICE THIS MEANS THAT WHETHER IN OUR RESPECTIVE ECONOMIES OR IN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEMS WE BOTH KNOW THAT THERE ARE NO MAGIC SOLUTIONS, NO SOFT OPTIONS. PRAGMATISM DOES NOT EXCLUDE PRINCIPLE.
CONFIDENTAL
/PEACE
17/
ei (233)
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