TNAG-1493-FCO40-2051-Future-of-Hong-Kong-General-Agreement-on-Tariffs-and-Trade-(-1986 — Page 105

374

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40481 - 1

OCMIAN 0481

CONFIDENTIAL

00 NEDEL

00 PEKIN

OO TOKYO

FM FCOLN TO NEDEL

020830Z JUN

GRS 289

HKK $22/L

RECEIVED IN REGISTIET

1 0 JUN 1986

DESK OFFICE

INDEX

A7810/61

CONFIDENTIAL

FM FCO

TO IMMEDIATE NEW DELHI

TELNO 609

OF 020830Z JUNE 86

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, PEKING, TOKYO, UKMIS GENEVA

UKMIS GENEVA TELNO 291: HONG KONG AND GATT

357

(356)

HONG KONG TELNOS 1633 AND 1634 REFERRED TO IN TUR ARE NOW

BEING REPEATED TO YOU.

2.

WE PROPOSE TO REINFORCE THE MESSAGE GIVEN TO THE JAPANESE

BY THE GOVERNOR BY SPEAKING TO THEM ALONG THE SAME LINES HERE AND

IN GENEVA. WE ALSO HAVE IT IN MIND TO SUGGEST TO THE CHINESE

THAT THEY SHOULD ACT SIMILARLY. OUR INITIAL LOBBYING EXERCISE

WAS A JOINT ONE, AND SO IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SECURE HONG

KONG'S LONG-TERM POSITION IN THE GATT: MOREOVER THE JAPANESE

CONCERN PRIMARILY RELATES TO THE PERIOD AFTER 3U JUNE 1997.

3.

IN VIEW OF TUR WE NOW WONDER WHETHER WE SHOULD NOT

PROPOSE TO THE CHINESE THAT WE AND THEY SPEAK TO BOTH THE

JAPANESE AND THE INDIANS. BUT BEFORE WE INSTRUCT PEKING TO SPEAK

TO THE CHINESE WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR ADVICE. WOULD WE

BE LIKELY TO ACHIEVE MUCH IN THE CASE OF THE INDIANS GIVEN THAT

YOU HAVE GONE BACK TO THE INDIANS TWICE ALREADY, IN ADVANCE OF

THE RECENT GATT COUNCIL? (JAPANESE CONCERNS ABOUT THE POST-1997 POSITION BECAME KNOWN TO US ONLY ON THE DAY OF THE GATT COUNCIL, AND THERE WAS NO TIME TO LOBBY THEM IN ADVANCE OF THE COUNCIL.

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