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TELNO
1897
(DISTRIBUTION AMENDED 20TH DECEMBER 1993)
OF 180345Z DECEMBER 93
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG, BTC HONG KONG
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Telecon Political Adviser/Ricketts, HKD
Peking telno 1614: Hong Kong Constitutional Development: Chinese threats to British commercial interests
1
In what seems to be something of a gaffe the Mayor of Canton, Li Ziliu, is quoted in today's Hong Kong press as having said that British trading interests in China would be affected by poor Sino- British relations and giving the failure of British companies to win major contracts in the Canton Metro project as an example.
2. Li is reported to have said that Canton had intended to award a Large number of contracts for the Canton Metro to British companies. But in view of the Sino-British row over Hong Kong's political development, Canton had decided to award the contracts to German companies instead. The report was carried in a number of newspapers, including the HK Economic Journal, Sing Tao Daily, Tin Tin Daily News, the HK Economic Times, Ta Kung Pao and the HK Commercial Daily.
3. You may wish to take account of this in any Whitehall considration of how to respond to Chinese threats on these lines.
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