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Int Sup the.
GISTRY
tun Taxe
57
047060
MDHIAN 2731
Heus 021/4
fil
RESTRICTED
RECE
FM LISBON
1 5 NOV 1993
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 355
DESK OFFICEF
OF 111424Z NOVEMBER 1993
IDEA
PA
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
L.
154
PEKING TELNO 1466: VISIT BY PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN: POSSIBLE
STOPOVER IN LISBON
1
WE ASKED MARQUES TEIXEIRA, THE HEAD OF THE ASIA AND OCEANA DIVISION, MFA, ABOUT JIANG ZEMIN'S POSSIBLE STOPOVER IN LISBON.
2. TEIXEIRA INSISTED THIS WAS A CONFIDENTIAL AND HIGHLY SENSITIVE SUBJECT WHICH WAS BEING DISCUSSED AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN THE MFA. NO DECISION HAD BEEN TAKEN YET BY THE PORTUGUESE AS TO WHETHER TO ALLOW THE STOPOVER. BUT TEIXEIRA THOUGHT THAT PORTUGAL COULD NOT DIRECTLY REFUSE. HE ADDED THAT JIANG ZEMIN'S CHOICE OF LISBON FOR
THE STOPOVER WAS A VERY POSITIVE SIGNAL FOR PORTUGAL. THE CHINESE PRESIDENT COULD HAVE CHOSEN ALMOST ANY OTHER EUROPEAN CAPITAL EG MADRID.
3. WHEN WE SUGGESTED THIS SOUNDED AS THOUGH THE PORTUGUESE WOULD GIVE JIANG ZEMIN A GREEN LIGHT, TEIXEIRA SAID 'ONLY MAYBE'. HE MENTIONED THE EC BAN ON EXCHANGES AT HEAD OF STATE LEVEL AS A FACTOR UNDER CONSIDERATION. BUT HE ALSO SAID THAT THE VISIT WAS BASICALLY A TECHNICAL TRANSIT STOP, NOT A WORKING VISIT, AND IT WAS THEREFORE NOT CLEAR THAT IT WAS CAUGHT BY THE EC BAN.
4. TEIXEIRA ADDED THAT HE WAS UNDER INSTRUCTIONS NOT TO DISCUSS THE MATTER AND I SHOULD BE GRATEFUL IF HIS CONFIDENCE COULD BE RESPECTED.
WALL
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1
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