NationStates Jolt Archive

London

Christina Lloyd hadn't even gotten used to the time zone yet. She'd spent a sleepless night curled up in her bed, staring out the window of No. 11 Downing Street and listening to Andrew's gentle snoring. Eventually giving up on sleep, Christina retreated to the parlour and read the last few chapters of The War of the World, a book by Niall Ferguson that discussed, in somewhat chilling terms, why Communism (both anarchist by the Soviet model and authoritarian by the Combine model) had flourished in Asia to the detriment of the West. As the hours slipped by and the sun rose in the east, Christina wrapped herself in a terry bathrobe and fixed a pot of coffee. Considering her schedule, she'd need whatever stimulants could be made available.

Some two hours later, after a rather charming English breakfast that settled better than the somewhat bizzare mix of Indian and Celtic food she'd eaten in India, Christina donned formal clothes and walked across the street to No. 12 Downing St. She produced a card for the door guard, was waved through, and made her way to the meeting room. Andrew was already there, his computer open in front of him with a spreadsheet running in the background... and a game of Minesweeper active. Christina crept up behind him, ruffled his immaculate hair and took a seat a few chairs away, leaving room for various aides that would later join her. She studiously ignored his glare and fished through her briefcase for papers.

The Right Honourable George Mainwaring, Prime Minister of the Empire, entered the room with a somewhat self conscious glance at his watch. Acutely aware of his lateness, Mainwaring took a seat at the head of the table and looked about merrily.

"Ah, Christina. So nice to have you back." Mainwaring shuffled his own papers into order before continuing. "Alan is ill and won't be joining us today, leaving the newly arrived Ms. Lloyd here as the representative of the Foreign Office. I've called this meeting about a matter that concerns us all, but her department most of all.

"The Soviets have built a rather fearsome alliance, you see, and it seems that in preparing for war we have neglected some of the regional powers in Asia. Most specifically, I refer to the Chinese. China is not really a progressive nation, after all, and it seems an unlikely partnership between two powers that can't last long. Accordingly I have taken the liberty of contacting the Chinese government and arranging for a state visit...

London, the Docklands

Christina's own apartment hadn't seen much use these past few months, although it provided a useful place to return to after a night out on the town. Staggering drunk into No. 11 Downing Street was an excellent way to make the tabloids, and while her own apartment wasn't much better, it did afford privacy that the governmental housing lacked. She used it primarily as a storage facility these days, and had returned there to pack her bags and fume.

Deputy Foreign Secretary wasn't an easy post. The Foreign Secretary's job entailed a certain level of responsibility, and with responsibility came the opportunity to stick around London for a while. Deputy Foreign Secretaries, on the other hand, took all the unsavoury jobs in alternative timezones, such as negotiating with enemies, allies of enemies, and two-bit dictatorships. Her flight plan included a stopover in Samarkand, which would hopefully be filled by discussions with Chingiz Khan. However, the main aim of her trip was to meet with members of President Hu's government in Beijing. And, of course, to forge relationships with opposition parties. Britain had not engineered a coup in a long time, and perhaps it was time for the Empire to get back in on the act.

President Hu Jin Tao was very quick to begin organising arrangements for a British state visit. After the diplomatic bungle that was France, Hu Jin Tao's political career was on the line, his popularity had hit an all time low after his failure to negotiate an end to the conflict and he broke into a cold sweat every time a foreign policy proposal came up into parliament's debating chambers. What was even worse was the threat of his coalition partners abandoning the confidence and supply agreements. But still, there was still a while until the next election and anything could happen. China's relations with the British had become rather cold lately. The two nations had clashed over Indonesia, The Suez management, Africa, Singapore, Libya, Argentina and a whole host of other more trivial reasons. Hu was quite keen to smooth things over without making himself look like the bungling diplomat that he had come across as while in France.

Mainwaring's suicide had come as a bit of a nasty shock - Beijing generally viewed him as more of the "Old Britain", the Britain that existed before the terrible events on Gibraltar, the Britain that took a firm stance against Holy League expansion and his passing was symbolic of the passing of the reigns. The old Britain had been replaced with the British and Australasian Commonwealth, somewhat less righteous and more fearful than the old. President Hu would be sure to give a gift of some sort to commemorate the old fellow. Christina Lloyd would be housed at a 5 star hotel near the Hong Kong Convention centre, meeting with Hu Jin Tao personally first thing in the morning after her rest.

Meetings with opposition party members were also the norm in China. After all, it was an MMP democracy and furthermore, each had their own agendas.

OOC:Sorry the response took so long.

Beijing, two days later

Waking up in China, with light streaming in the windows and a thousand dollar silk duvet pulled up to your chin does not make for a bad morning.

Waking up in China with a pounding light-sensitive migraine does. Christina groaned, flailed for the aspirin she kept by her bed and made a sort of lunge/topple out of bed and onto the floor. She dragged her suitcase towards her, retrieved her traveling kit and shuffled into the bathroom. A few minutes in the shower and about a half hour in front of the mirror combined to fool someone into believing that she was awake and alert, if not in the best of spirits. Another two aspirin, chased with a large mug of coffee, killed her headache and made her brain begin to work again.

Breakfast was a simple affair, a scone and another mug of coffee in the hotel's dining room. A newspaper (the London Times, she noted with approval) was provided by a startlingly deferential server. China had its own social mores, and she returned his bow with a dip of her head to thank him for his service.

Wired from coffee and lack of sleep, Christina and her aides were ushered into a waiting government car. It was furnished well, but her careful eye noted that the glass was doubly re-enforced and the metal clanged in a way that aluminum didn't. Not a standard shell, then. The driver of the armoured car whisked Christina and her contingent away, taking them the few blocks to their meeting with President Hu.

There was not much press at the conference - no, the media had followed the vice president all the way to Xinjiang where he had apparently said a whole bunch of bad stuff about Chingis Khagan, it was more interesting to be honest and no one really cared about a President who's polling had fallen to the mid 20s apart from calling him names like a "lame duck" or worse. But President Hu maintained that things would get better, eventually, hopefully before the election. He sighed as he noted the lack of media attention.

Hu smiled at Christina as she was led through a pair of doors into his meeting chamber, although he noted she looked unusually pale. Privately, he speculated that there was possibly a pregnancy involved. Perhaps David Straitharn had a stepson now.

"Welcome to China Miss Lloyd. How was the flight? Would you perhaps like a cup of wine to refresh yourself?"

Christina did her best not to collapse into the proffered chair. She smiled genially at President Hu, a man that she respected personally whatever their differences of opinion. She had noted both the lack of media outside-- it seemed that Hu's government was essentially ignored by the press--as well as the president's carefully hidden look of concern.

"No thank you, Mr. President," she said with a laugh. "I'd like to keep a clear head, at least for the moment." The two of them exchanged small talk and general well wishes for a moment while the aides, attaches and camp followers of both President Hu and Secretary Lloyd arranged themselves. Briefcases clicked, laptops hummed to life.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Mr. President," Christina said after a somewhat drawn out moment. "I'm aware of the concerns that you have raised about the Suez situation, and I'd like to take a moment before we start off to assure you that no civilian shipping of any kind will be interdicted, and that the canal itself is going to remain open. After all, there's no reason for Britain to want to close its own conduit of eastern trade.

"Now, as for the current situation. Africa is quickly becoming unstable with the deployment of more and more troops from more and more nations there, and I understand that China has a certain level of trade with many of the independent African nations. I wonder if I could get a bit of a read on the situation from your point of view, perhaps to see whether we could work out some kind of agreement to proceed with?"

"Thank you for your reassurance regarding the situation around the canal. However, intentional or not, Britain has been risking international trade routes for her own political agenda for quite a while." Hu said in his heavily accented English.

"We were extremely displeased with Raleigh's foot-dragging during the last Suez crisis, and although the SCA has discussed compensation, nothing has been forthcoming."

"Now Singapore is being developed as a forward base for what appears to be an operation against the Soviets and Britain risks bringing the conflict to an extremely important channel of commerce."

"Yes, I'm aware of the issue of compensation, and I assure you that the British delegation to the SCA is urging for a speedy repayment for all damages. I cannot speak for the board, since it isn't a governmental agency, but I have been in communication with Stan Westland, the British delegate, and he has told me that funds are being made available.

"As for Singapore, the island is currently surrounded by Strainist elements to the south demanding the arrest of a significant portion of the population there. While these claims may well be valid, such a move requires a great deal of investigation by my own government, and the Strainists seem unwilling to wait. In light of the recent annexation of the Banda Aceh region, it seems prudent to fortify the island against aggression.

"Actually, as soon as this issue is resolved with Jakarta and Sithin, Britain is looking at the possibility of dredging the Malacca strait so as to make it easier to navigate. This is, obviously, a large undertaking, and China would be welcome in assisting us. After all, as two nations operating some of the largest merchant fleets in the world, it does behoove us to work together and optimize our profit, no?"

"Perhaps then, an issue of shares could be made in order to compensate us for financial damages then. The China National Equity fund would be very keen on becoming a white knight shareholder within the SCA. I'm sure a Chinese presence on the board will go some way towards easing military concerns between the Progressive world and NATO, and would undoubtably assist diplomacy to prevent a repeat of the previous Suez crisis."

"On the issue of Africa, I cannot comment on that with any representative significance. Private companies are staying away from the continent for good reason. Politically however, Beijing is committed to continuing trade ties with with all parties at present."

"China is a current signatory to the treaty signed at the end of the war with Bonstock, which recognises the Malaca straight as an international waterway. Are you referring to an investment in the Ports of Singapore?"

Obviously a loaded question with a huge amount of ambiguity. Hu was now fully comfortable with Christina, and was beginning to try and probe as much information as he could get.