HC Deb 26 April 1971 vol 816 c17W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will take the necessary action to arrange for Great Britain's official diplomatic missions in Peking to be raised to a full ambassadorial and embassy status on a reciprocity basis with Chinese ambassadorial representation in London.

Mr. Kershaw

Her Majesty's Government are in favour of an unconditional exchange of Ambassadors with China. Their views on this question were first made known to the Chinese Government in 1950 and have been repeated on many occasions since then. The Chinese have themselves raised various conditions before such an exchange could take place.