TNAG-1168-FCO40-1448-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 25

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

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suggested that an understanding about an eventual tailing off of arms deliveries might be possible, he said the Americans were thinking of something of this kind related to the situation in the Taiwan Straits but he was not enthusiastic. Nor did he think discussions could be spun out for ever: it was not like the Sino-Soviet talks.

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7. On Hong Kong very little was said. Huang Hua, in his speech, said rather sternly that there were problems between us still to be solved. I took him up on this saying I believed we could certainly solve fairly rapidly any current problems. He said that Hong Kong was a longer term problem with, the implication that it could not be settled for some time. said, as he knew, an early solution was needed otherwise disinvestment would take place, damaging China as well as others. He made no comment and did not, as Gu Mu recently did with the Financial Secretary, accept the force of the argument. I set this as a slight negative sign (coming from a rather negative person) against the more positive ones appearing since Mr Atkins' visit. But by itself it is too slight to make much of.

8.

There were some questions from the Chinese about arrange- ments for Mrs Thatcher's visit. Both Huang Hua and Zhang Canming said that Mrs Thatcher would presumably wish to visit Shanghai to launch Sir Y K Pao's ship. They had heard this from Ke Hua in London. I said we had no firm proposals yet.

Cc:

·Yours ever

Часов

Anchal Athrason

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PERCY CRADOCK

(PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL)

Governor

HONG KONG

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL