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a formal intermediary. We should also bear in mind the use of Mr GoodLad's dialogue with Ambassador Ma as an official channel which was probably Less frosty than relations in Peking at the moment.
5. We also discussed briefly Sir R McLaren's suggestion that the Secretary of State might offer to meet Qian somewhere in Europe if Qian visits Scandinavia in the spring. The Secretary of State is prepared to consider this, subject to developments in the meantime and views of addressees. He accepts that it would not be practical to think of meeting Qian on neutral ground during his visit to Asia before Easter. But he agreed that we should try to discover discreetly more details of Qian's itinerary in the spring and to consider nearer the time the possibility of offering a meeting.
The Secretary of State agreed that we must now expect Chinese action against British commercial intrests.
We also touched briefly on the position on the airport, JLG and contracts and franchises.
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