TNAG-1253-FCO40-1586-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 56

attached

CONFIDENTIAL

(217)

LIKK040/5....

RECEN

Private Secretary

i:

EAST/WEST RELATIONS

- 1.

FROM:

MARK ELLIOTT, FED PATE: 28 JULY 1983

cc: PS/Mr Luce

Mr Donald

Mr Clift, HKD Mr Broomfield, EESD

Mr. Myreis Ms Inf

Si

Ps.

Sir P Cradock has written (21 July) to Sir J Bullard, who is at present on leave, on the subject of the latter's minute of 1 July on East/West relations. In accordance with the

injunction in the last paragraph of Sir P Cradock's letter, See (220) I am submitting a copy of his letter.

2. Sir J Bullard may wish to comment, and to reply to Sir P Cradock, on his return. His minute of 1 July was, as I under- stand it, very much his own personal work, on which FED were naturally not consulted. The major paper on East/West relations which EESD have been coordinating has involved some input from FED; however as the central purpose of that paper was an analysis of Western policy towards the Soviet bloc, the passages on China were (in my view rightly) confined to a brief mention of the effect on our policy towards the Soviet Union of the China factor. The paper did not attempt to analyse in any detail either Sino/Soviet relations or UK/China relations, still less the Hong Kong question.

3.

With this reservation about the background, I entirely agree with all that Sir P Cradock says in his letter.

CONFIDENTIAL

Mark Shirt

Mark Elliott