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    "id": "1534945",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "1975/12/10 - Cabinet",
    "description": "This file contains an agenda and briefing paper only.",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1534945",
    "collections": [
        "James M. Cannon Files (Ford Administration)",
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    "subjects": [
        "China",
        "Cabinet meetings",
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    "seq": 1,
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box 54, folder \"1975/12/10 - Cabinet\" of the James\nM. Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nDigitized from Box 54 of the James M. Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nMr. Cannon\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON\nDecember 9, 1975\nMEMORANDUM FOR\nTHE CABINET\nSUBJECT: CABINET MEETING, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1975\nThe President has approved the following agenda for the Cabinet meeting\nscheduled for Wednesday, December 10th, at 11:00 a.m., in the\nCabinet Room.\nDebriefing on the\nPresident's Trip to\nthe Pacific Basin\nThe President\n15 minutes\nBriefing on the Status\nof the Budget Process\nJames Lynn\n15 minutes\nBriefing on Campaign\nProgress\nHoward Callaway\n45 minutes\nBriefing on Cabinet\nMembers Campaign\nAppearances\nSecretary Morton\n10 minutes\nBriefing on Legal\nCuestions regarding\nCampaign Participation\nPhilip Buchen\n30 minutes\nJAMES E. CONNOR\nSECRETARY TO THE CABINET\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON\nD ecember 9, 1975\nCABINET MEETING\nWednesday, December 10, 1975\n11:00 a. m. (90 minutes)\nThe Cabinet Room\nFrom: James Julie Connor\nI. BACKGROUND, PARTICIPANTS AND PRESS PLAN\n1. Background: You last met with the Cabinet on November 6th when\nyou hosted a dinner for them at the Residence. A meeting was\nscheduled on November 26th prior to your Pacific Basin trip, but\nwas cancelled because of your heavy schedule. This meeting will\ncover the subjects which had been planned for the November 26th\nmeeting.\n2. Participants: Attached at Tab A\n3. Press Plan: Press Photo at Beginning of Meeting and David\nKennerly Photo.\nII. TALKING POINTS\n1. As you know, I've just gotten back from an extensive trip to the\nPacific Basin. I thought you might like to be debriefed on that\ntrip. (General Scowcroft has provided talking points for this\nitem, which are attached at Tab B.)\n2. As you all know, the budget process is pretty well along. We are\ncoming close to the deadline, and I have asked Jim Lynn to give\nus a report on the situation. Jim,\n3. Since we will be entering a campaign year in 1976, I have decided\nto devote the remainder of this meeting to issues concerning the\ncampaign. We will begin with a progress report from Bo Callaway.\nBo\n- 2 -\n4.\nRog Morton has recently written to some of the Cabinet members\nconcerning campaign appearances. I understand some of you\nhave some questions, and I have asked Rog to discuss this with\nus today. Rog,\n5.\nFinally, Phil Buchen has prepared a briefing on the legal questions\nregarding campaign activities to bring us up to date on what we\ncan and cannot do under the new rules and regulations. Phil\nAttendees\nCabinet Meeting\nWednesday, December 10, 1975\nThe President\nThe Vice President\nThe Secretary of the Treasury, William Simon\nThe Attorney General, Edward Levi\nThe Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz\nThe Secretary of Commerce, Rogers C. B. Morton\nThe Secretary of Labor, John Dunlop\nThe Secretary of HEW, F. David Mathews\nThe Secretary of HUD, Carla A. Hills\nThe Secretary of Transportation, William T. Coleman\nThe Deputy Secretary of State, Robert Ingersoll (For Secretary Kissinger\nwho is leaving for Europe today)\nThe Deputy Secretary of Defense, William P. Clements (for Secretary\nRumsfeld who is abroad)\nThe Under Secretary of the Interior, D. Kent Frizzell (for Secretary\nKleppe, who is in Los Angeles)\nThe Counsel to the President, Philip Buchen\nThe Counsellor to the President, Robert Hartmann\nThe Director of OMB, James Lynn\nThe Counsellor to the President, John O. Marsh\nThe U. S. Representative to the United Nations, Daniel P. Moynihan\nThe Deputy Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, Clayton Yeutter\n(for Ambassador Dent, who is in Geneva)\nWhite House/Executive Office:\nWilliam Baroody, Assistant to the President for Public Liaison\nJames Cannon, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs\nRichard Cheney, Assistant to the President\nJames Connor, Secretary to the Cabinet\nMax Friedersdorf, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs\nAlan Greenspan, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers\nWillian Greener, Deputy Press Secretary to the President\nBrent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs\nL. William Seidman, Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs\nAgencies:\nRussell Train, Administrator, EPA\nFrank Zarb, Administrator, FEA\nOther:\nHoward Callaway, PFC\nStewart Spencer, PFC\nMary Louise Smith, Chairman, RNC\nTAB B\nSECRET\nTALKING POINTS\nPeople's Republic of China\n1. I went to China with the intention of sustaining and building\non the dialogue which we have established with the leaders\nin Peking over the last four years. I believe this serves\nthe most fundamental interests of our country: to help\nshape the evolution of a more stable balance among the\ngreat powers; and to create the conditions for a more\npermanent and realistic relationship with a country with\nalmost a quarter of the world's population.\n2. I went to Peking with no illusions. We clearly have basic\nareas of disagreement with the Chinese. Quite apart from\nthe differences of philosophy, culture, and social systems,\nthey perceive the state of the world in much more ominous\nterms than do we. They believe the prospects for a new\nworld war are substantial. They maintain a bitter hostility\ntoward the Soviet Union that is reflected in both political and\nmilitary confrontation.\n3. For all these areas of difference, we did find much in common\nwith the Chinese. Although our approaches to dealing with the\nSoviet Union differ, given our varying positions in the world\nand our respective national interests, we share a distrust\nof Soviet intentions. The Chinese support a strong NATO,\nas we do. They urge the Japanese to maintain strong ties to\nthe U. S., a policy of obvious value to us. They wish to see\nSoviet influence excluded from the Middle East. And we both\nare wary of Moscow's efforts to extend Soviet influence directly\nor indirectly into such places as Angola, the Indian Subcontinent,\nand Southeast Asia. I believe my talks with Chairman Mao\nand Vice Premier Teng strengthened the basis for continuing\nparallel actions on these issues of common concern. We also\nclarified our areas of continuing difference. I indicated, for\nexample, that our people find it difficult to accept some of\nthe Chinese criticism of our policies that serve their own\ninterests as well as ours as in the Middle East.\nSECRET\nDECLASSIFIED\nE.O. 12958, Sec. 3.5\nNSC Memo, 11/24/98, State Dept. Guidelines\nBy WHM NARA. Date 5/15/00\nSECRET\n2\n4.\nOn Korea, our public policies clearly differ, but my impres-\nsion is that the Chinese would not find instability on the\npeninsula helpful to their security concerns any more than we\nwould. I believe they will oppose the stirring up of trouble\nthere.\n5.\nOn Taiwan and the normalization question, the Chinese did\nnot press for a change in the present situation. They know\nthat there are strong feelings in this country, and they see\nthat our influence there keeps the situation stable. At the\nsame time, their interest in the eventual completion of the\nnormalization process has not changed. I believe that it is\nimportant that that should at some point take place - for\nthe larger strategic interests involved -- but there was no\nattempt to resolve the specific timing and the actual modali-\nties of a new arrangement.\n6.\nAs you know from the public announcement, the Chinese very\nhelpfully provided information on seven MIAs lost in past\nyears along the Chinese periphery. Hopefully this may\nencourage Hanoi to be more forthcoming in accounting for\nour Indochina MIAs.\n7. To summarize, I believe my four days in Peking contributed\nto the strengthening of our relationship with the People's\nRepublic of China in a manner that will further our efforts\nto create a more stable international situation.\nIndonesia and the Philippines\n1.\nMy visits to Indonesia and the Philippines were especially\nuseful parts of the Pacific trip. They put our overall relations\nwith the region into perspective in the context of my trip to\nChina and our active dealings with the Japanese this past year.\n2.\nBoth President Marcos and President Suharto said that the\nfall of Victnam and Cambodia last spring had produced very\nreal questions about the future role of the U.S. in their part\nof the world.,\nSECRET\nSECRET\n3\n3. My visit elicited comments from both of them that they do\nnot want the U.S. to retreat to a \"fortress America. 11 They\nwant us to play a constructive and responsible role in Asia.\nI told them this was precisely our intention. My speech at\nthe East-West Center in Hawaii on Sunday was designed to\nexplain to the American people our overall approach to the\nPacific region.\n4. I was highly impressed by the receptions we received in both\ncountries, particularly in the Philippines. We have many friends\nand much public good will in these two countries. They are\nlooking to us for leadership and support. I told them both that\nwe want to sustain strong and friendly relations.\n5. President Marcos is basically concerned with two aspects of\nour relationship: achieving more favorable terms of trade for\nPhilippine products, and revising our base arrangements so\nthat it does not appear as though they have no control over them.\nMarcos genuinely wants the bases to remain. He told me the\nChinese had not in any way pressed him for their removal.\n6. We agreed that we would negotiate on both subjects in the near\nfuture. We hope to include investment guarantees that would be\nhelpful to American investors, as well as trade arrangements\nwhich are in Philippine interests, in our overall treaty. While\nwe may agree to some changes in the base arrangements, there\nwill be no reduction in our operating capability.\n7. Indonesia is a country which merits our close attention and\ninterest. It is the fifth most populous country in the world.\nIt is also rich in oil resources, although its per capita income\nis still very low.\n8. Indonesia is a member of OPEC, and we have tended to lump it\ntogether with the other OPEC countries when enacting restrictive\nor retaliatory legislation. I do not believe this has been a wise\ncourse. Indonesia has not in the past supported the harshest\nOPEC actions, such as the embargo and the full amount of the\nrecent ten percent price increase.\nSECRET\nSECRET\n4\n9.\nThe Indonesians are concerned about the possible spread\nof Communist subversion in their country. They keep Peking\nand Hanoi at arms length and try to react quickly to possible\nthreats.\n10.\nThe Indonesians also indicated they want to encourage U.S.\ninvestment in their country.\nSECRET"
}