TNAG-1464-FCO40-1991-Visits-by-Chinese-officials-to-the-UK--including-visit-by-Hu-1986 — Page 19

and Japan

CONFIDENTIAL

ently for Korea.

(We intend to work this up into

a more glossy version for the State Visit to China in

October.)

As the Prime Minister may recall from her previous

Short

meeting with Mr Hu Yaobang, he is a man of vitality

with a reputation for being unpredictable and, for a

Chinese, uncharacteristically expressive in his

gestures. (He smokes, and has on occasion, in the

exuberance of the moment, been known separately

to remove his dentures and to hold his foreign

interlocutor's hand).

Although he has had a chequered

career since 1980 Hu is widely regarded as Deng

Xiaoping's chosen successor in the Party.

Whether or

not he actually does succeed Deng (he is already 71)

Hu will for the immediate future, continue to work at

Deng's right hand as an energetic and no-nonsense

reformer, seeking to shake up a political system which

suffers from excessive bureaucracy and the paralysing

effects of the cultural revolution. He is an astute

and practical operator who has built up a large group

of political allies and proteges. Among his weaknesses,

however, are his lack of understanding with the armed

forces, and a wider feeling that he lacks the dignity

and composure appropriate to a national leader.

Li Peng, the Vice Premier and Member of the Politbure

accompanying Mr Hu, has wide government responsibilities

including energy and education (he is concurrently

Chairman of the State Education Commission). He is a

key figure in the development of China's infrastructure;

a senior member of Deng Xiaoping's team; and could well

succeed/!..