different elements of the Chinese government in dialogue. The Foreign Secretary may be right to depict Britain as punching above its weight. Nevertheless Britain's status in the UN and as one of the nuclear powers of the second rank may be assets as far as relations with China are concerned. Given the complications in Sino-American relations, a Sino-British dialogue on issues to do with arms control, arms sales and even nuclear related matters may be mutually beneficial.
and beyond that there are distinct advantages in cultivating relations between the respective armed forces. They may well be an important factor in determining the political succession and in preserving the unity of the country. They exercise a degree of influence on foreign policy and they may well play a part in shaping Beijing's behaviour towards Hong Kong.
APEC,
Despite of, or perhaps because of, the repercussions of Tiananmen and the end of the Cold War, the Chinese government has displayed unexpected willingness to participate in multilateral and cooperative international institutions. It has joined the Non Proliferation Treaty, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the ASEAN post-ministerial meetings. It has distanced itself from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and thrown
and thrown its not inconsiderable weight behind the UN there. Similarly, it has ceased to support Kim Il Sung and it is playing a constructive role along with South Korea in seeking to persuade the North to negotiate over the nuclear issue and to begin economic reforms. The Chinese have even acknowledged that human rights is an international norm, interest in which does not automatically constitute interference in domestic sovereign affairs. Admittedly, the chinese put their own gloss on these as on other matters. But that is an argument for engaging in dialogue and cultivating relations.
Conclusion
I have argued that Britain does confront dilemmas in the Hong Kong negotiations. But on balance Britain should be prepared as a last resort to proceed with a programme that could promise to sustain the rule of law as embedded in a genuinely representative legislature. Obviously it would be best if this could be achieved with Chinese agreement, but as long as the proposals continue to enjoy the support of the people of Hong Kong Britain should be ready to proceed even if the Chinese withhold agreement. Little would be achieved by signing an agreement that would in effect destroy the prospects for the exercise of sufficient autonomy to ensure the rule of law after 1997.
Beyond that I have argued for seeking to engage the Chinese authorities more closely in a variety of areas as being in the interests of Britain and of Hong Kong too. Obviously care would have to be taken that the latter was not sacrificed to the former.
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