TNAG-1268-FCO40-1617-China-s-economic-relationship-with-Hong-Kong-Shenzhen-econom-1983 — Page 9

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كن.

UNITED KINGDOM DELEGATION TO THE

ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION

AND DEVELOPMENT

19 rue de Franqueville, 75016 PARIS

Telephone: 524.98.28

Mr Just Faaland President

Development Centre

OECD

HKK 091/1

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

14 DEC 1983

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

23 November 1983

RECRTRY

PA

Action Taken

Yes

146 KEBISLIL

OTED: Ith.

De Homely 17.22871

This shall be entered with

In George's winte

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Cro 28%

Dear Mr. Faaland

INIT

I was. most grateful for your letter of 22 November (CD-JF-83-338). I was sorry to have had to speak so trench- antly on 21 November. But the passages which you mention in the description of project 4.2 indeed went rather beyond the scope of any Development Centre research which had been discussed or could be entertained.

I

2. It was good of you also to see me at such short notice. explained that, although the passages represented the immediate cause of my concern, I had difficulties also with the broad historical and political setting in which the project was being presented. Such a perspective invites the pursuit of polit- ical questions which, as we had already agreed, are not approp- riate for the Development Centre. The analogy with OECD's work on East/West economic relations is perhaps apt.

While my authorities are less concerned than others at the discussion in OECD of the political implications of economic questions, they do remain of the view that economics must be the basis of the OECD's work. I doubt whether many Member States would welcome an historical or political treatment of other non-member count- ries, such as the Soviet Union.

3. It follows from the above that, apart from paragraph 6 and at the end of paragraph 16, I would exclude most of the Background chapter of the project description. Paragraph 3 might be reinstated before paragraph 10 and paragraph 4 before para- graph 16 (with any necessary sub-editing). But I strongly doubt the appropriateness of paragraphs 5-9. To treat the matter properly furthermore you would have to cast the net wider still, with even greater difficulties for an OECD project. It is of course reasonable to refer in passing to the historical back- ground as part of the economic argument; but that is a differ- ent matter from the treatment of it as a discrete part of the research as I understand it now to be.

14.

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