Of course we also have a bilateral interest in
China. The potential for trade with a country whose
population is over one billion is great, although the
reality of trade with China tends to be rather less
impressive than one expects: in 1990 our exports to China
were £460 million and our imports £580 million. It
remains an important market particularly for major
British producers of capital equipment.
Another reason for talking to China is human rights.
The recent visit to Britain of the Dalai Lama has
reminded us of the unhappy history of repression there.
Nor has this been confined to Tibet: Tiananmen Square has
entered our vocabulary as an expression of hope crushed
by military force China has a long history-of-
subordinating the rights of the individual to the will of
the state. That will not change quickly, but evidence of
dealings with other countries shows that by persistent pressure a point can be reached at which a poor human
rights record becomes an embarrassment which needs to be
set right. We and our Western partners continuously remind the Chinese of their obligations, and I shall
speak on human rights when I visit Peking next week.
But the main reason why we need to keep in close touch with China is the future of Hong Kong, a small
crown colony, linked to a larger leased territory, the
lease coming to an end in late 1997. After that
Hong Kong will once again become part of China and that
prospect causes understandable anxiety in the colony. Tiananmen Square sent a shudder down Hong Kong's spine. How can Hong Kong be confident of its future, it is asked, if China can swing so quickly from benevolence to
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