CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO TELELETTER FCO
TELELETTER:NFR
OF 05035OZ JUNE 93
INFO TELELETTER PEKING
FROM:
FOR:
CONFIDENTIAL
HKCC 012/4
RECEIVED IN KICSINY
8 JUN 1993
DESK OFFICER INDEX
RECISTRY
PA
Gion Taken
1012/4.
48
133730
MDTTAN 4027
Wit 7/6
Spy Mr Herren
17/6
7. Mr Man's
WILLIAM EHRMAN, POLITICAL ADVISER, HONG KONG. PETER RICKETTS ESQ, HKD, FCO.
COPIED TO: SIR R.MCLAREN, HMA, PEKING.
JARDINES AND CHINA.
(47
on Proke 7/6.
Mr While/6
1. THANK YOU FOR COPYING TO ME YOUR TELELETTER OF 4 JUNE TO
SIR R.MCLAREN.
2. I HAD BREAKFAST WITH MARTIN BARROW ON 5 JUNE. JARDINES HAVE NOW OBTAINED A COPY OF DOCUMENT 93/440. BARROW SHOWED BUT DID NOT
GIVE ME THIS.
3.
WHEN SIR C.POWELL VISITS PEKING NEXT WEEK HE WILL SEE HKMAO DEPUTY DIRECTOR WANG QIREN. BARROW SAID THAT SIR C.POWELL WAS INCLINED TO BE FAIRLY OPEN ABOUT THE DOCUMENT WITH THE CHINESE. ALTHOUGH SOME OF JARDINE'S CHINA BUSINESS WAS CONTINUING, THE EFFECT OF THE DOCUMENT HAD BEEN SERIOUS: FOR EXAMPLE, JARDINE'S HAD LOST 80 PERCENT OF ITS SHIPPING BUSINESS. BARROW ASKED FOR MY ADVICE ON WHETHER SIR C.POWELL SHOULD ACTUALLY HAND OVER A COPY OF THE DOCUMENT TO HIS INTERLOCUTORS.
4.
I SUGGESTED THAT SIR C.POWELL SHOULD START BY REFERRING TO THE EC/CHINA COMMUNIQUE AGREED BETWEEN SIR LEON BRITTAN AND CHINA'S MINISTER OF FOREIGN TRADE MADAM WU YI. THIS, AS YOU KNOW, STATES THAT CHINA WILL NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST OR AMONGST EC FIRMS. I SAID THAT SIR C.POWELL COULD SAY THAT THIS WAS ENTIRELY IN CONFORMITY WITH THE GATT. HE MIGHT THEN GO ON TO EXPRESS REGRET THAT SOME WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS IN CHINA HAD RECENTLY SEEMED TO CONTRADICT THE COMMUNIQUE. I SAID THAT IT MIGHT BE BETTER NOT TO HAND OVER A COPY OF THE DOCUMENT IN MEETINGS BUT FOR AN AIDE TO GIVE A COPY TO A CHINESE AIDE AFTER MEETINGS, SAYING THAT THIS WAS WHAT SIR C.POWELL HAD BEEN REFERRING TO. BARROW SAID THAT HE WOULD DISCUSS THIS WITH SIR C.POWELL BEFORE HE SEES THE GOVERNOR ON 7 JUNE.
1
PAGE CONFIDENTIAL
SIGNED:
YYYY
MAIN
SINGLE COPIES
NNNN
CONFIDENTIAL
W G EHRMAN, POLITICAL ADVISER.
1
DISTRIBUTION
1
HKD//MR P RICKETTS
2
PAGE
CONFIDENTIAL
133730
MDTTAN 4027
CONFIDENTIAL
47
133461
MDTTAN 4005
CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO TELELETTER PEKING
TELELETTER NFR
OF 040851Z JUNE 93
AND TO TELELETTER HONG KONG
FROM P F RICKETTS, HONG KONG DEPARTMENT
HICC 012/0
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
? JUN 1993
DESK OPHOL INDEX
REGISTRY
PA
Action Taken
TO SIR R MCLAREN
TO WILLIAM EHRMAN ESQ
JARDINES AND CHINA
1.
We had a word while I was in Peking Last week about the Letter from Sir Charles Powell to me dated 12 May, in which he asked that the Embassy should follow up Philip McLean's earlier representations to the Chinese authorities about the discrimination against Jardines.
2. Having touched base with Ministers here, I spoke to Sir C Powell on the lines we agreed. I said that you would be very willing to make a further approach to the Chinese authorities on this subject. But, in your judgement, another low-key approach was unlikely to have any effect. If we were to
to have any prospect of changing Chinese policy towards Jardines, we would have to be willing to engage in some fisticuffs. We could for example ask the Chinese side bluntly how they squared the instructions in document 93/440 with the terms of the recent EC/China communique, or the provisions of the GATT. That might shock them into thinking about the wider consequences of their discriminatory policy.
3. Sir C Powell accepted that this was probably right. He said that since he had written to me, he had had further discussions with Ambassador Ma here. Ma had suggested that he visit Peking and discuss the issue face to face with officials there. Sir C Powell told me that he would be in Hong Kong next week anyway for the Jardines AGM, and would probably come up to Peking at the end of next week. He asked that the Embassy take no further action pending his own visit. He will probably make contact with you if and when he is in Peking.
1
PAGE CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.