§ 2.45 p.m.
§ LORD VANSITTARTMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as widely stated in the Press, the Communist Government of China have already reduced the assets of British firms in Shanghai from £300 million to less than £40 million, and whether the British Government have protested against this form of peaceful co-existence.]
THE MINISTER OF STATE, FOREIGN OFFICE (THE MARQUESS OF READING)My Lords, it is impossible to make an exact estimate in money terms, but the general scale of the loss may well be of the order indicated by the noble Lord. There has certainly been a very serious reduction in the assets of British firms in China, which are concentrated mainly in Shanghai. Command Paper No. 8639, published in August, 1952, dealt with the representations made by Her Majesty's Government to the Chinese Government about the position of British firms. Other representations have frequently been made to the Chinese Gov 504 ernment about the difficulties which British enterprises have met with in China. It is clear that it is the deliberate policy of the Chinese Government to render it impossible for most British and foreign firms to remain in China and to force them to surrender their assets. The reduction in assets is mainly due to the Chinese authorities forcing British firms into debt by restrictions, regulations and taxes et cetera, so that they have been unable to carry on, and in order to be able to liquidate and leave China they have had to surrender all their assets to the Chinese authorities. Only a comparatively small part of the reduction in assets is due to direct expropriation and confiscation by the Chinese.
Lately, and in particular since the Geneva Conference, the Chinese have been more accommodating in such matters as the issue of entry and exit permits, but their fundamental attitude towards British and other foreign firms has remained unchanged.
§ LORD VANSITTARTMy Lords, seeing that since I put down the Question it has been announced that the three British Banks and Jardine Matheson are all on the verge of expropriation, could the noble Marquess confirm that prospect? I saw in last Sunday's Observer an article which began, "The end of British trade in China is in sight." The prospect looks pretty black.
THE MARQUESS OF READINGI have no direct information about those particular concerns to which the noble Lord refers, but the general position I have given him in the Answer.
§ LORD OGMOREMy Lords, has the noble Marquess's attention been drawn to an article in the Manchester Guardian which says that the prospects of British trade in China are bright?
THE MARQUESS OF READINGI have to confess that I returned to this country only on Monday last, after being absent on duty, and I am afraid that that precise article has not yet reached me. I will, however, have a look at it.
§ LORD VANSITTARTPerhaps I will take up that point which I missed in the Manchester Guardian. It will be interesting to see how the prospects—
§ LORD VANSITTART—of British trade can be bright when their money is being taken away wholesale the whole time.