TNAG-1176-FCO40-1478-Air-services-between-the-UK--China-and-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 106

回

CONFIDENTIAL

J W D Gray Esq

MAED

Hicie 184/1

23 JUN VIZ

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Gt George Street

London SW1

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE

1 VICTORIA STREET

LONDON SWIH OET

TELEPHONE DIRECT LINE 01 215 3229

Pins2310

SWITCHBOARD 01 215 7877

Mr. Will fumom willyumam neeky

This mee

is tomorrow

afternoon (18 June). 11.

pent

16 June 1982

the Jim,

HONG KONG AND CHINA: AIR SERVICES

D1%

Caprel & Mr Gray

мало вст

The conversation Handley Stevens and I had last night with Sir Adrian Swire and John Browne of Swires did not call in question the line of action on which we settled yesterday afternoon. Swires believe, as we do, that the Governor and EXCO greatly exaggerate the risks to our wider interests of a firm line with the Chinese on air services. John Browne said that in his years as an unofficial member of EXCO he had never known an issue of this kind put to that body.

1716

See (23

2x

2 We also discussed the implications for Hong Kong aviation of the discussions expected to take place with the Chinese, during the Prime Minister's forthcoming visit and on other occasions, on the future relationship of Hong Kong with China. The growing interest in the issue of sovereignty has a direct relevance to civil aviation. To the extent that China could claim to exercise any kind of sovereignty over Hong Kong, or to have a say in Hong Kong's external affairs, she could also claim a right to influence all air services into and out of Hong Kong, and which airlines should operate them. It is perhaps not wholly fanciful to see CAAC's current tactics as leading eventually towards this position: they would certainly find Hong Kong traffic rights an attractive proposition.

3 These are of course early days; and the concerns to which I have referred, if they are valid, relate not just to civil aviation but to a range of other issues, such as textiles, the Gurkhas, Crown leases and so on. But it is possible that the issue of the future relationship could move quite quickly over the coming months, and it seems right to put up a marker at this stage for the aviation interest. It is our view, shared by Cathay Pacific and