TNAG-1297-FCO40-1652-Visit-by-Sir-Geoffrey-Howe--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-a-1984 — Page 303

13

HKK 027/2

FIECEIVED IN 190ISTRY

30 JAN 1984

DESK OFICER

INDEX

No

PA

KER

CONFIDENTIAL

From:

SIR P CRADOCK

Private Secretary

Copied to:

PS / Mr Luce

PS / PUS

19

Than

Mr Donald

Sir S Giffard

c/o Hds of Mission Mr Elliott, FED

Mr Clift HKD

Mr. H

Clift

را نماهای

124/1

SECRETARY OF STATE'S VISIT TO THE FAR EAST.

1. Your minute of 23 January.

2.

I agree with the points in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Mr Donald's minute of 19 January. As I see it, a Ministerial visit to Peking will almost certainly be needed at some point before the joint announcement we are aiming for in the late summer. There will be great problems with publicity, exaggerated expectations and the like, but we shall probably have to accept these.

3. Any visit would have to be well prepared, the groundwork. done and they key questions isolated beforehand. It is possible, if we move fast, that we shall have got in the papers on the central issues and have discussed them with the Chinese before Easter. This would make sense of a visit by the Secretary of State in April. A visit to Peking as part of a Far Eastern tour would have a slightly lower profile than a special visit later. But of course everything will depend on progress in the next few rounds.

4. There is therefore a good case for making provision to include Peking in the April trip, though I am afraid any arrange- ments would have to be tentative only at this stage.

5. To be of any use, a visit would have to allow for two nights in Peking, i.e.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

arrival about midday from Tokyo in Peking

leaving early in the Morning for Hong Kong

логи

24 January 1984

SIR PERCY CRADOCK

CONFIDENTIAL