TNAG-2752-FCO40-3967-Organisation-for-Economic-Co-operation-and-Development-(OECD-1994 — Page 233

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FM UKDEL OECD PARIS

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 019

OF 021515Z APRIL 93

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HKB

09113

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

07 APR 1993

REGISTRY Action Taken

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

PA

TOKY

INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG, PEKING WASHINGTON,

140126

MDHIAN 6259

19.

RETRANSMISSION OF TELNO 19

YOUR TELEGRAM NO 292 TO PEKING : OECD/CHINA DIALOGUE

1. IN CONSIDERING HOW TO RESPOND TO THE JAPANESE INITIATIVE FOR AN OECD/CHINA DIALOGUE WE NEED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN (A) DIALOGUE CONCERNING SPECIFIC ISSUES OF TRADE, ENVIRONMENT, COMPETITION ETC VIA WORKSHOPS AS IN OECD'S DIALOGUE WITH DYNAMIC NON-MEMBER ECONOMIES (DNMES) - NOW INCLUDING SOME LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES AS WELL AS KOREA, TAIWAN, HONG KONG, MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE AND (B) THE LONG-STANDING CONTACTS ON A PRINCIPALLY RESEARCH/ACADEMIC LEVEL BETWEEN THE OECD DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (A SEMI-AUTONOMOUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE) AND ITS CHINESE COUNTERPARTS. AN EXAMPLE OF THE LATTER IS THE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE'S SEMINAR ON 'DEMOCRATISATION AND MODERNISATION IN CHINA' TO BE CONDUCTED HERE ON 7 APRIL BY DR GAO XIAN, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE CHINESE CENTRE FOR THIRD WORLD STUDIES. JEAN BONVIN, THE ACTING HEAD OF THE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE, HAS ALSO INFORMED ITS ADVISORY BOARD THAT FOLLOWING A RECENT VISIT TO PEKING HIS INTERLOCUTORS ARE INTERESTED IN TRANSLATING INTO CHINESE SOME OF THE CENTRE'S RECENT DEVELOPMENT POLICY BRIEFS, NOTABLY THE ONE ON PRIVATISATION.

2.

THE JAPANESE APPEAR TO BE INTERESTED IN THE FIRST TYPE OF DIALOGUE WHERE CONTACTS BETWEEN THE ORGANISATION AND CHINA HAVE HITHERTO BEEN NIL. KIYA, THE NO 2 IN THE JAPANESE DELEGATION, TOLD ME TODAY THAT JAPAN WAS CONSIDERING AS A FIRST STEP PROPOSING THAT CHINA MIGHT SEND AN EXPERT TO THE DNME WORKSHOP ON TRADE ISSUES TO BE HELD IN HONG KONG IN OCTOBER. THIS IDEA HAS BEEN AROUND FOR SOME TIME (SEE ENCLOSURE TO NEWTON'S LETTER OF 10 JULY 1992 TO SARAH O'CONNELL IN ERD COPIED TO HKD AND PEKING). AT THAT TIME OECD DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL TANIGUCHI REPORTED THAT CHINA'S POSSIBLE PARTICIPATION HAD BEEN RAISED DURING TWO PREVIOUS WORKSHOPS AND THAT HONG KONG OFFICIALS DID NOT SEE DIFFICULTIES. PRESUMABLY THE FACT THAT OECD'S DIALOGUE IS BEING CONDUCTED WITH DYNAMIC 'ECONOMIES'' RATHER THAN 'STATES'' WAS DEEMED LIKELY TO OVERCOME CHINESE SENSITIVITIES.

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