TNAG-2798-FCO40-4038-Hong-Kong-six-monthly-meetings-of-foreign-ministers-1993 — Page 18

SECKL

021/1

RECEIVED IN BRISTRY

25 Jun 1993

(41)

174743

MDHOAN 4587

SECRET

FM FCO

TO IMMEDIATE PEKING

TELNO 380

OF 211635Z JUNE 93

DESK C

REGISTRY

INDEX

PA

Action Taken

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

PERSONAL FOR AMBASSADOR FROM HUM, AUSS HONG KONG PERSONAL FOR DINHAM, GOVERNMENT HOUSE

~HICC on/7 490

YOUR TELNOS 823 AND 824 AND HK TELNO 977:

1.

HKCC 012/8 (82)

ра

mall миђ

6

TALKS: WAY FORWARD

- 01217 (492)

The Secretary of State has agreed that it would be sensible to sound out the Chinese side informally on Qian's availability on 9/10 July.

2.

As you know, no decision will be taken on whether a visit by the Secretary of State should go ahead on those dates until OPD (K) on 1 July. Ministers are concerned to avoid as far as possible building up Chinese expectations (or fuelling Chinese conspiracy theories). They agree that you should take the line proposed in para 4 of your first TUR casting it as a diary enquiry and emphasising as you propose that Ministers would wish to review the situation after the Sixth Round before taking a decision on whether to propose a visit. You have discretion to arrange for this approach to be made at a level below your own if you think that this would help to play down the political signal involved.

3. Ministers would be grateful if you could arrange for this approach to be made on 22 June if possible, so that it was separate from the talks.

4.

Ministers are content with the proposed tactics for the Sixth Round set out in your second TUR. I am telegraphing separately with comments on the dates for the seventh and eighth rounds of talks.

HURD

YYYY