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HKB 182/6
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08 JUL 1991
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041426
MDHIAN 4179
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TELNO 492
OF 05042OZ JULY 91
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, BTC HONG KONG, PEKING, ACTOR INFO PRIORITY WASHINGTON, TOKYO, WELLINGTON, OTTAWA, MANILA INFO PRIORITY KUALA LUMPUR, BANGKOK, JAKARTA, UKMIS NEW YORK
@
YOUR TELNO 219 TO ATHENS: HONG KONG AIRPORT
VISIT TO CHINA
SUMMARY
K
PRIME MINISTER'S
ACTION TAKEN WITH SENIOR OFFICIALS IN DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, WHO WELCOMED NEWS OF BOTH THE AGREEMENT AND THE
1.
VISIT. IN RESPONSE TO OUR SUGGESTION, FOREIGN MINISTER ISSUES A WELCOMING STATEMENT IN HELPFUL TERMS.
DETAIL
2.
I TOOK ACTION ON 4 JULY WITH ACTING DEPUTY SECRETARY, DFAT, AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY (EAST ASIA). THEY WELCOMED NEWS OF BOTH THE AGREEMENT AND THE VISIT, COMMENTING THAT AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT WOULD HAVE NO DIFFICULTY WITH THE LATTER, ESPECIALLY IN THE LIGHT OF THE EVIDENT NEED FOR HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE BETWEEN BRITAIN AND CHINA OVER HONG KONG. AGREEMENT ON THE AIRPORT SHOULD HELP TO BOLSTER INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IN HONG KONG, WHERE AUSTRALIA HAD A SUBSTANTIAL STAKE. THEY ALSO THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE ANOTHER WELCOME INDICATION OF A MORE FORTHCOMING ATTITUDE ON THE PART OF THE CHINESE LEADERSHIP TOWARDS THE OUTSIDE WORLD, CONSISTENT WITH RECENT CHINESE MOVES ON CAMBODIA AND WITH INDICATIONS OF A MORE POSITIVE ATTITUDE TO THE NPT. AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW IN DUE COURSE WHETHER THE PRIME MINISTER'S FORTHCOMING TALKS IN PEKING REVEAL ANY FURTHER CONFIRMATION OF THIS APPARENT TREND.
IN RESPONSE TO OUR SUGGESTION, AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HAS NOW ISSUED A USEFUL WELCOMING STATEMENT. TEXT IS IN MIFT.
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