BEIJING'S Ambassador to Britain will give MPs China's view of relations over Hong Kong just hours before next week's debate on the territory.
Ma Yuzhen, who is known for speaking out on relations between Britain, China and Hong Kong and has found himself summoned to the Foreign Office several times in recent years, will speak to the Anglo-Hong Kong Parliamentary Group on Wednesday night, 24 hours before the scheduled six-hour debate in the Commons.
Although some might argue that his meeting will be tantamount to getting the first word of influence in the debate, Mr Ma is a well-known figure on the British diplomatic circuit and meets MPs frequently.
Robin Cook, the shadow foreign secretary, recently dined with him and his words at the closed meeting will be more interesting for what they give away on China's thinking following this week's meeting between Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen than anything else.
MPs will use next week's debate to examine Britain's relations with the territory, China and Taiwan with an eye towards booming Asian economies, David Howell, the chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said.
The debate will focus on the select committee's report last year on the subject. Mr Howell, who has been pressing for the Commons to dicsuss the matter for some time, said the debate was 'well overdue'.