British Leader Visits Beijing, Easing Sanctions : China: Major’s primary motive is to clear the way for a new airport and port project in Hong Kong.

British Prime Minister John Major arrived here Monday on a visit that further eases the international political sanctions imposed on China after the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing.

Major’s trip, the first by a Western European leader in more than two years, constitutes part of a Sino-British deal worked out in July for construction of a $16-billion Hong Kong airport and port project.

China, which will resume sovereignty over the British colony in 1997, had raised objections to the project’s cost. A British offer of a visit by Major to Beijing to sign an agreement on the airport construction helped win Chinese support for the proposal.

Major has faced sharp criticism from opposition politicians in London and international human rights groups protesting that his visit gives too much international respect to Beijing at a time when political repression here remains intense.

While flying into Beijing on Monday from Moscow, Major defended his trip here, saying to reporters: “China has had a period of isolation. It needs people going in and telling them face-to-face what the rest of the world thinks. An important part of the dialogue will be on human rights. I will raise the issue and I will carry it as far as I can without provoking a breakdown of communications.”

Upon arrival in Beijing, Major participated in a formal welcoming ceremony that involved reviewing an honor guard of soldiers in front of the Great Hall of the People, which is on Tian An Men Square, the center of the 1989 pro-democracy protests. Major also paid a courtesy call on Premier Li Peng, with whom he will hold talks today.

“We live in a changing world in which events are moving very rapidly, very speedily and sometimes in the most unexpected way,” Major told Li. “I think that argues very strongly for the closest possible consultation.”

Li expressed hope that his talks with Major “will yield good results.”

“Our two sides share many common points,” Li said. “There may be some different views, but it doesn’t matter. Since we live on the same planet, we need contacts.”

Major, who will also meet with Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin and President Yang Shangkun, will brief Chinese leaders on his nine-hour Moscow visit, said British officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. He will also raise Western concerns over Chinese arms sales.

Major indicated to reporters that his main reason for coming to China is that the trip is important for Hong Kong. He implied that too much tension in London-Beijing relations would damage the colony in the run-up to the 1997 transfer of sovereignty.

“The vast majority of people in Hong Kong are pleased I am going because they recognize the importance of the airport agreement,” Major said. “I have to live in the real world. It would not be proper to sit back and strike attitudes and let Hong Kong pay the price.”