TNAG-2752-FCO40-3967-Organisation-for-Economic-Co-operation-and-Development-(OECD-1994 — Page 248

CONFIDENTIAL

FM PEKING

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 439

OF 290923Z MARCH 93

CONFIDENTIAL

120460

MDLIAN 3474

HKB

091/3

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

0 APR 1993

TOF QDIST

?

DESK

INDEX

REGISTRY

PA

Action Taken

12)

INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG, UKDEL GECD

FCO TELNO 292 TO HONG KONG: JAPANESE PROPOSAL FOR OECD DIALOGUE WITH CHINA

1. THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF FURTHER INVOLVING CHINA FURTHER IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DIALOGUE IS SOUND, BOTH AS A MEANS OF REINFORCING THE PROCESS OF REFORM AND IN FOSTERING A MORE RESPONSIBLE APPROACH TO FOREIGN TRADE PRACTICES.

2.

WE ARE NOT WELL PLACED TO COMMENT ON THE MOST APPROPRIATE FORM FOR AN OECD DIALOGUE, GIVEN THE WIDER ISSUES OF OECD RESOURCE RESTRAINTS AND PRECEDENTS. NONETHELESS, THE COASTAL AREAS OF CHINA NOW HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF CATCHING UP WITH THE ECONOMIES OF MALAYSIA, ROK AND THAILAND WITHIN THE NEXT TWENTY TO THIRTY YEARS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN BASED ON THE SAME PATTERNS OF EXPORT-LED GROWTH AS IN THESE OTHER ECONOMIES. THERE WOULD THEREFORE BE MERIT IN TRYING TO INCLUDE CHINA IN THE DIALOGUE WITH THE DYNAMIC ASIAN ECONOMIES SUGGESTED IN TUR. THE MAIN POTENTIAL PROBLEM HERE WOULD BE ONE OF NOMENCLATURE SINCE THE CHINESE WOULD NOT BE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY FORUM WHICH THEY CONSTRUED AS ACKNOWLEDGING TAIWANESE STATEHOOD. WE ARE UNSIGHTED ON THE TERMINOLOGY USED BY OECD BUT A USEFUL PRECEDENT COULD BE THE ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC) WHERE THE PRC, TAIWAN AND HONG KONG ALL PARTICIPATE AS REGIONAL ECONOMIES, NOT STATES.

3. IF THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE IT SEEMS FROM HERE WORTH CONSIDERING WHETHER, GIVEN THE POTENTIAL IMPORTANCE OF THE CHINESE ECONOMY, SOME SPECIAL DIALOGUE ARRANGEMENTS COULD BE MANAGED.

MCLAREN

YYYY

1

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CONFIDENTIAL