TNAG-2693-FCO40-3896-Meetings-and-calls-on-Alastair-Goodlad--Minister-of-State-fo-1993 — Page 63

IN CONFIDENCE

Director. Perhaps this would be a good moment for the Royal

Society to talk informally with the Britain/Russia Centre about

collaboration. Sir Michael Atiyah agreed that it would.

CHINA, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN

9. Mr Lennox-Boyd said that China was experiencing remarkable

economic development, without political change. 1992 had been a boom year - GNP had grown by 12%, foreign trade by 20%. Economic reform had been accompanied by decentralisation. A period of

political uncertainty was expected when Deng Xiaoping died, but

the existing system was unlikely to break down. One of the rising younger leaders, Zhu Rongji, visited the UK last year.

But human rights were still denied in China.

10. Mr Lennox-Boyd noted that China aimed to double its spending

on science and technology, from 0.7% of its GNP in 1991, to 1.5%

by the year 2000. The UK/China Science and Technology

Cooperation Agreement was due for renegotiation in April.

Activity under several UK/China MOU's had now been resumed,

following their suspension after the events in Tiananmen Square

in 1989. Mr Lennox-Boyd said that the tendency of the Chinese

authorities to compartmentalise different activities should

provide opportunities for the Royal Society, since the Chinese

would certainly not allow rows over Hong Kong to disrupt the development of scientific relations with the UK.

11. Mr Lennox-Boyd said that scientific diplomacy had an important role in Taiwan. HMG could not have full diplomatic

relations with Taiwan; any links that the Royal Society was able to establish were therefore doubly important. We understood that

the Society already had a link with the National Science Council

(NSC) in Taiwan, but that little interest had yet been shown by

IN CONFIDENCE