§ 9. Mr. MacFarquharasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will invite the Chinese Foreign Minister to visit the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. LuardMy right hon. Friend has already renewed his predecessor's invitation to the Chinese Foreign Minister to visit the United Kingdom. No date has yet been fixed.
§ Mr. MacFarquharWhenever that meeting takes place, will my right hon. Friend consider it proper to suggest that when Mr. Hua Kuo-Feng visits France he should also visit Britain?
§ Mr. LuardI am sure that my right hon. Friend has heard my hon. Friend's question and will take note of what he has said. We hope that the Chinese Foreign Minister will visit as soon as possible. My right hon. Friend is himself hoping to visit China soon.
§ Mr. WelshWhen the right hon. Gentleman next meets Mr. Huang Hua, will he discuss China's highly successful foreign aid policy to the poorer Third World countries, in order to draw lessons for the United Kingdom based on the Chinese experience and encourage technological aid programmes to such poorer Third World countries?
§ Mr. LuardAs someone who has studied Chinese policy for quite a long time, I agree that China's aid programme has a lot that is interesting and perhaps of some value to us. We are already aware of the kind of programmes in which China has engaged.
§ Mr. HooleyWhen the Foreign Minister of China comes for conversations, 1429 will my right hon. Friend discuss with him the anachronistic nineteenth century colonial regime in Hong Kong'?
§ Mr. LuardI think that my hon. Friend knows that we have an extremely friendly relationship with the Chinese Government with regard to the situation in Hong Kong. No major problems arise in connection with that relationship at present. It is most unlikely that this will be a subject for serious discussion between the Chinese Foreign Minister and our own Foreign Secretary.