TNAG-1847-FCO40-2622-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 51

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BRIEFING WAS OF COURSE BOUND TO BE DIFFERENT IN CHARACTER SINCE

IT WAS INFORMAL AND OFF-THE-RECORD.

4.

THANKS PARTLY NO DOUBT TO THE CARE TAKEN IN PRE-BRIEFING, THE COURSE OF THE VISIT IN CHINA REALISED NONE OF OUR FEARS.

THE MPS WERE UNEASY FOR THE FIRST DAY OR SO BECAUSE OF UNFAMILIARITY AND SUSPICIONS ABOUT CHINA, BECAUSE OF THE DELAYED START TO THEIR SERIOUS BUSINESS AND BECAUSE OF THE BLOW (WHICH THEY LATER GOT OVER) OF THE MOFERT CANCELLATION. ONCE THEIR MAIN MEETINGS STARTED THEY WERE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED AND IMPRESSED BY:

THE CALIBRE OF THEIR INTERLOCUTORS (WHO INCLUDED A NUMBER OF GROUP LEADERS AND EXPERTS INVOLVED IN THE BLDC).

THE COURTEOUS TREATMENT THEY RECEIVED, AS FRIENDS AND

COLLEAGUES.

THE CHINESE READINESS TO TAKE ALL QUESTIONS ON BOARD.

THE FULL, FRANK AND GENERALLY POSITIVE ANSWERS THEY WERE GIVEN. 50 BY THE END OF THE VISIT THE MPS WERE IN UPBEAT MOOD,

AS

REFLECTED IN THEIR PRESS CONFERENCE. THEY FELT THEIR VISIT HAD ACHIEVED ITS PURPOSE: THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE SOME GOOD BY THE POINTS THEY PUT TO THE CHINESE, AND THEY HAD HAD A VALUABLE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR CHINESE VIEWS. THEIR INITIAL WORRIES ABOUT POLITICAL STABILITY IN CHINA, AND SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE SCALE OF THE POST-HU YAOBANG DISTURBANCES, WERE SET AT REST BY THE NORMALITY AND CHEERFULNESS THEY OBSERVED EVERYWHERE IN PEKING.

6.

THE MPS SAW A LOT OF THE EMBASSY. THEY MET REPRESENTATIVES OF

ALL SECTIONS ON 22 APRIL AND VISITED THE CULTURAL SECTION (WHICH IMPRESSED THEM) ON 24 APRIL. THEY WERE MADE AWARE OF THE VISA PROBLEM I A BY THE QUEUE THEY SAW OUTSIDE THE EMBASSY AND THEY REMARKED ON OUR CRAMPED ACCOMMODATION. BUT THEY MADE NO DISOBLIGING REMARKS AND GAVE NO INDICATION OF POINTS THEY MIGHT WANT TO TAKE UP LATER. THEIR EXPRESSED GRATITUDE TO THE EMBASSY

AT THE END OF THE VISIT SEEMED GENUINE.

·

7 BECAUSE OF THE CANCELLED CALL ON MOFERT THE MPS HAD NO ORGANISED DISCUSSION OF HK/UK/CHINA TRADE QUESTIONS. WE PROVIDED AS MUCH BACKGROUND AS WE COULD ON 22 APRIL AND IN SUBSEQUENT

MARGINAL DISCUSSIONS. THE MAIN POINT THAT SEEMED TO HAVE REGISTERED WITH THE MPS WAS THE RELATIVELY LOW BRITISH SHARE OF

PRC TRADE AND THE LIMITED EFFORT MADE BY UK BUSINESS IN CHINA

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