TNAG-1253-FCO40-1586-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 64

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Mr Donald

SECRET

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INFLUENCING THE CHINESE

1.

209

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Mr Warren-Gash's minute of 11 July to the Private Secretary on FED's submission on Sino/US and Sino/Soviet relations asks for the department's views on using some of our friends other than the Australians and the Americans to influence the Chinese over Hong Kong.

2.

(12)

2777

See (16)

I should record that I spoke to Mr Warren-Gash about this last week. I told him that you had called for the papers and that you would be out of the office until Monday 18 July. However our general view was that we were inhibited from inviting any assistance from our allies by the Prime Minister's very clear instruction that knowledge of the central issues in the Hong Kong negotiations should be confined to as small a circle as possible. We had extended this circle to include the Americans, and later the Australians to a limited extent, because there were specific occasions (visit of Mr Shultz to China and that of Premier Zhao Ziyang to Australia) for which we judged it advisable that the governments concerned should be aware of our position. I said that no other occasion seemed likely to present itself in the near future involving any other government. On general grounds the Canadians were probably the government with whom we had closest relations and which was at the same time likely to have influence with the Chinese; the FRG might perhaps be a second choice. I did not think that the French would be suitable. The Japanese might conceivably qualify for a somewhat franker account of our views, but it was far from clear whether their influence would be exercised with the Chinese precisely as we would wish.

3.

I am not sure whether you or Mr Clift would wish more to be said on this issue. If not, and if you agree with the foregoing, you may like to confirm to Mr Luce's office that these are our views.

Mark Shicht

18 July 1983

cc: Mr Clift, HKD

Mark Elliott

Far Eastern Dept

SECRET