TNAG-1501-FCO40-2059-Guangdong-nuclear-power-station-project-at-Daya-Bay-safety-c-1986 — Page 126

K

o Barten

JU46

Чл

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

سی

10 1 of 18

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY

1-19 VICTORIA STREET

LONDON SW1H 0ET

Telephone (Direct dialling) 01-215)

GTN 215)

(Switchboard) 01-215 7877

5422

8 July 1986

3013

SECRET

The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Howe QC MP Secretary of State for

Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs Foreign & Commonwealth Office Downing Street

London SW1

Geoffrey

HKD

PS/Mr Rentão Ps/Mr Qaisar Sir w Handing

Drwilan

ик

HONG KONG:

NUCLEAR SAFETY

FED

NED

29

Chr

Thank you for your minute of 16 July about public concern in Hong Kong over the safety of the Guangdong nuclear station. I agree that we must continue to give our full support to the Hong Kong Government in its efforts to inform and reassure the Hong Kong people.

The Government's suggestion that the Chinese Government should be told of the 'political price' of the continuation of the project would, as you say, have important implications for our relation- ships with both the Chinese and the French. Such a move would be detrimental to our efforts to expand Sino-British trade including the recently agreed £300m soft loan facility. There would also be major repercussions on political and commercial relations with the French. Given the French Government's unwavering commitment to their nuclear power programme, and their close collaboration with us in Government and industrial spheres for over five years to secure the Guangdong project, they would undoubtedly react very strongly to suggestions originating from HMG that the project should be substantially amended. It is possible that the effects would go much wider than our relations with France and China. The UK could be represented, however unfairly, as an unreliable partner for collaborative projects in general. I think therefore that we should take no steps to follow up the Governor's suggestion without full Ministerial consideration, and I believe that for the present our main task is to seek to reassure Hong Kong, rather than to consider ways of putting pressure on the Chinese to amend the project. If you agree you may wish to make

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BOARD OF TRADE BICENTENARY