TNAG-1260-FCO40-1600-Briefings-for-Ministers-and-FCO-officials-on-the-future-of-H-1983 — Page 69

BACKGROUND

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1. Lord Shawcross has visited China on several occasions, both

privately and on behalf of Morgan Guaranty for which he is a special adviser. The Chinese pay him special attention. He is in close touch with the Chinese Embassy and has previously been received in

China at a high level.

2. Lord Shawcross has a keen interest in Hong Kong, where the Morgan Bank is active. Following a visit there last autumn (during which he took a line generally helpful to HMG) Lord Shawcross asked Mr Pym for an assessment of the Hong Kong situation on 17 December

1982.

A

3. Lord Shawcross was subsequently briefed on Hong Kong by Mr Giffard on 28 April 1983 before visiting China in May as the guest of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs. During that visit Lord Shawcross met Assistant Foreign Minister Zhou Nan, who spoke about Hong Kong's future, and to whom Lord Shawcross pointed up the importance of maintaining confidence in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Department

2 September 1983

THIS IS A COPY

THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN RETAINED IN THE DEPARTMENT UNDER SECTION 3 (4) OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT 1958

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