CONFIDENTIAL
8 It was agreed therefore that it was
necessary to keep in close touch with the commercial negotiations to know the likelihood of slippage and tailor our actions accordingly.
9
There was also the question of the French and the need for them to take Hong Kong opinion seriously. This would be among the issues that Mr Benjamin would discuss during a forthcoming meeting with the DREE.
Longer Term Action
10 Mr Morphet felt that generally any UK measures to reassure Hong Kong on
on safety should latch onto those being carried out by
by the French. Actions to help the Chinese set up a nuclear safety infrastructure would need to take full account of Chinese sensitivities and would be best offered in the context of the UK/Chinese Nuclear Co-operation Agreement.
11 HKG were extending the UKAEA consultancy but the role that UKAEA could play in reassuring Hong Kong was limited. Rather than propose a visit to China by UKAEA to look at nuclear safety arrangements, it would be preferable to invite initially a group of Chinese to the UK. Then to consider how best to offer assistance and judge if a visit to China would be worthwhile.
12 There were also limits on the comments HMG could make about its confidence in Daya Bay and it would be difficult to go beyond its general line of belief in nuclear power.
13 It was reasonable to assume that
that a full safety regime would not be in place in China
in China at present and would be gradually
be gradually developed during the construction period of the station.
14 Mr Gordon said that it would be an advantage to know more background details about the Chinese nuclear industry in order to best utilise and build on existing facilities. He therefore suggested commissioning a Cabinet Office paper to pull together all available information. A useful source of material would be the French and perhaps the UKAEA could approach the relevant bodies in France.
15 The meeting agreed that this paper should be prepared.
Telegram to Peking
16 In preparation for the response to Chinese comments
comments resulting from the Ambassador's approach in July, 4 August a draft telegram for Peking, thoughts on the current position.
Further Inter-Departmental Meetings
17
the the setting
FCO
would circulate on down the meeting's
The meeting agreed that future meetings would be required to keep interested Departments fully informed and the FCO said that they would be willing to chair these.
SEE 3
Department of Trade and Industry
August 1986
CONFIDENTIAL
сс
Those officials present Dr Dobbie, SEE 3
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.