PERSONAL AND MANAGEMENT IN CONFIDENCE
Greater China market is a particular priority of Mr Needham's within the Asia-Pacific Rim, and the Asia-Pacific region is his number one priority worldwide.
12.
As you know, we are looking to open a Consulate-General in Canton as soon as possible, funds permitting. But we have agreed that there will continue to be a need for the BTC to focus on South China from a Hong Kong/UK perspective. Clearly, close liaison between BTC and Peking/Canton will be required to ensure that your efforts reinforce rather than overlap each other's. But even with a post in Canton, the BTC will retain the advantage of close contact with many of the major players in Southern China who are based in Hong Kong. Your predecessor's role in helping to secure the Shajiao C contract for GEC Alsthom is a case in point.
Reporting on Business Opinion
13.
I have seen your letter of 1 December to Peter Ricketts and am glad that you found the clarification of our needs in his letter to you of 27 November helpful. Your enclosure on "Business Mood" was useful. We would welcome further round-ups of this sort as and when the material is to hand. Sometimes a paragraph woven into a report on economic/commercial perceptions in the business community would be useful to consumers here as well.
Staffing
14.
I am conscious that to meet all the revised objectives in the light of my comments above adds up to a considerable workload. The clear message I take from your letter of 27 November to David Hall, and from your letter of 13 November to Peter Ricketts, is that the BTC is benefitting greatly from the attachment of Richard Parry and the other secondees covering specific sectors. You confirm that the additional resources are enabling you to increase your output and cover areas that you had previously been unable to cover. The conclusion we draw is that the BTC's Authorised Establishment may be insufficient to the task.
15.
I confess that I initially felt relief, in the current PES climate, that the Head of one of my posts at least was not bidding for more resources (LE staff apart). But I am now concerned that we may simply
I should not be giving you the tools to do the job. therefore like you to look again at your staffing in the context of the revised objectives. At this stage of the
PERSONAL AND MANAGEMENT IN CONFIDENCE
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