TNAG-2347-FCO40-3416-Political-relations-between-Hong-Kong--Italy-and-China-1991 — Page 18

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09 SEP 1991

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TO DESKBY 10120OZ ROME

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OF 10100OZ SEPTEMBER 91

AND TO IMMEDIATE OTHER EC POSTS

PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO CHINA AND HONG KONG: MESSAGE TO PRIME MINISTER ANDREOTTI

1. PLEASE PASS THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER TO PRIME MINISTER ANDREOTTI. THERE WILL BE NO SIGNED ORIGINAL

BEGINS

DEAR GIULIO

I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO HAVE THIS ACCOUNT OF MY VISIT TO PEKING AND HONG KONG BEFORE YOUR OWN VISIT. TO CHINA IN A FEW DAYS' TIME.

THE CONTRAST BETWEEN MOSCOW AND PEKING COULD NOT BE GREATER. IN MOSCOW THE PLACE IS HUMMING POLITICALLY BUT IN DIRE STRAITS ECONOMICALLY. PEKING IS THE REVERSE AND THE CHINESE SET SOME STORE BY THEIR THRIVING MARKET ECONOMY AS ONE REASON WHY CHINA IS DIFFERENT FROM THE SOVIET UNION.

AS YOU KNOW, THE MAIN REASON I WENT WAS TO SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE CHINESE WHICH ALLOWS HONG KONG'S NEW AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT TO GO AHEAD UNHINDERED. I ALSO REACHED AGREEMENT WITH THE CHINESE ON A NUMBER OF OTHER DETAILED HONG KONG ISSUES WHERE PROGRESS HAS BEEN BLOCKED ON THE CHINESE SIDE.

THE CHINESE LEADERSHIP VALUE HONG KONG AS A CENTRE OF ENTERPRISE: IT IS INVESTMENT FROM HONG KONG IN SOUTHERN CHINA THAT HAS LED TO AN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION THERE. PEOPLE IN HONG KONG NOT SURPRISINGLY FEAR THAT CHINA WILL TRAMPLE ON THEIR FREEDOMS IN 1997, WHILE THE CHINESE SEE HONG KONG AS THE THIN END OF A DEMOCRATIC WEDGE. THEY ALSO THINK THAT BRITAIN IS SOMEHOW GOING TO USE HONG KONG AFTER 1997 AS A BASE TO SUBVERT CHINA. I HOPE THAT WE HAVE NOW GOT OUR RELATIONS ONTO A SUFFICIENTLY SOUND FOOTING TO RID THEM OF SOME OF THESE SUSPICIONS. WE MUST AVOID A SITUATION IN WHICH CHINA USES THEM AS A PRETEXT FOR UNDERMINING THE JOINT DECLARATION, WHICH PRESERVES HONG KONG'S CAPITALIST SYSTEM AND ITS FREEDOMS FOR AT LEAST 50 YEARS AFTER 1997. IT