TNAG-1253-FCO40-1586-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 5

British Consulate-General (Avenida Diagonal 477)

Apartado de Correos 12111 Barcelona 36

Telep one 322 2151

R J Codrington Esq

SED

FCO

London SW1

HKK0405

RECEN IN REGISTRY

2 1983

DEX OFFICER

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Your reference

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No23/8

istined to the Calimora

Date 17 August 1983

INDEX

FA

1(5)

the

ANDORRA:

1.

PRESS REPORT OF CHINA'S INTEREST IN ANDORRAN CONSTITUTION

The national daily "El Pais" carried on 15 August a story, date-lined Madrid, about the Chinese authorities recently showing interest in the Andorran constitution in order to "study .t before the beginning of the negotiations" with Britain over the future of Hong Kong. Sources within the Spanish administration were reported as indicating that "officials of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs now possessed extensive information on the constiutional arrangements in Andorra".

2.

The El Pais story also reported the same Spanish

noting the possibility that the Chinese Government were aialysing the Co-Principality's system of co-government with the object of having it in mind when establishing the future "statut" for Hong Kong However a spokesman from the Chinese Embassy in Madrid denied knowledge of the matter on the Embassy having requested information o.1 the constitution of Andorra.

3. It is, of course, possible that the reporter got wind of enquiries which the Chinese may have made about Andorra in the context of the Andorran application a few months ago for membership of the International Telecommunications Union and jumped to the wrong conclusion. But in view of what Spanish foreign ministry sources are alleged to have said, I report it in case it fits in with other information on Chinese thinking.

E V Vines

cc: Hong Kong and General Depart nent, FCO

Far Eastern Department, FCO

D Reddaway Esq, Madrid

Chancery, Peking