Canberra, 20 July 1972
Confidential
Chinese Table Tennis Team1
The attached note2 indicates that the two PRC Foreign Affairs officials travelling with the ping pong team in New Zealand replied affirmatively when asked in Wellington if they wanted to discuss political matters. They subsequently saw Sir Keith Holyoake but we do not yet know what was discussed.
2. The two officials are said to be of Section or possibly Branch Head level and Desk Officer level respectively.
3. This raises the question of our own attitude when the team comes here. It might help the Government, if some talks took place, to be able to say that the dialogue was continuing. On the other hand, our position is different from the New Zealanders’ in that they have not opened a dialogue at diplomatic level and have not reached the impasse we have reached in Paris. Against the background of the Paris discussions, it seems likely that we would be rebuffed and told to go back to Paris if we were to come straight out with a proposal for political talks. It would seem even more unwise for us to propose at the outset that the Minister himself should discuss political questions with relatively junior officers. There is also the problem that given present Government policy we have—in substance—nothing new to say.
4. I suggest, therefore, that for the present we take the following action:
(a) inform the Minister of the talks in Wellington—we have asked the New Zealanders for details;
(b) have Cottrill3 say to the Chinese Foreign Affairs officials that we have been discussing the question of normalization of relations in Paris, but would be interested to know whether they would like to discuss here;
(c) be prepared, in the light of their reaction, to arrange for a meeting either with the Minister or with a senior officer.
[NAA: A1838, 3107/38/18/2, iii]
1 A table tennis team of players and officials from the PRC arrived in Australia on 22 July and visited Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, departing on 8 August.
2 Not found.
3 R.W. Cottrill, China–Korea Section, Department of Foreign Affairs.