asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the Chinese Communist regime was recognised by His Majesty's Government just prior to the Colombo Conference; and why His Majesty's Government did not wait to try and obtain united action at the conference on this matter.

Commonwealth and other friendly governments were kept fully informed of every stage of the deliberations which led to our recognition of the Central People's Government on 6th January. They were informed well in advance of our decision to recognise and of the date selected. In the course of these consultations, it became clear that because of the varying attitudes of different members of the Commonwealth, united action was not to be expected.