CHINESE LEADERSHIP HOLDS CENTRAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 017768 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2031 TAGS: PREL PGOV CH SUBJECT: CHINESE LEADERSHIP HOLDS CENTRAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS WORK CONFERENCE ON AUGUST 21-23 REF: A. FBIS FEA20060824026698 ¶B. FBIS CPP20060824054020 ¶C. FBIS CPP20060823057001 CLASSIFIED BY: POLITICAL INTERNAL UNIT CHIEF SUSAN THORNTON. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) HU JINTAO AND THE REST OF CHINA'S TOP LEADERSHIP HELD A "CENTRAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS WORK CONFERENCE" IN BEIJING ON AUGUST 21-23, WHICH LOCAL CONTACTS DEEMED UNUSUAL AND HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT. THE MEETING REPORTEDLY EMPHASIZED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO CHINA'S DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENT AND MODERNIZATION, AS WELL AS CHINA'S COMMITMENT TO "PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT" AND CREATION OF A "HARMONIOUS WORLD." ONE CHINESE SCHOLAR SAID THAT THE MEETING IS HU'S ATTEMPT TO LEAVE HIS MARK ON CHINESE FOREIGN POLICY IN THE RUN UP TO THE SEVENTEENTH PARTY CONGRESS NEXT YEAR. THE MEETING SIGNALED THAT ECONOMIC OPENING AND REFORM WILL CONTINUE, BUT THAT FOREIGN ENTITIES' ACTIVITIES IN CHINA MAY FACE FURTHER RESTRICTIONS DUE TO CONCERNS ABOUT THEIR IMPACT ON REGIME STABILITY. ANOTHER CHINESE SCHOLAR POINTED TO THE MEETING'S DISCUSSION OF STRENGTHENED PARTY CONTROL OF FOREIGN POLICY AND PROGRAMS. JAPANESE EMBASSY COUNTERPARTS SAY THEY ARE HEARING THAT, DURING THE MEETING, HU JINTAO DISCUSSED CHINA'S FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES. JAPANESE WERE SURPRISED BY THE SUPPOSED IMPORTANCE HU JINTAO GAVE TO RELATIONS WITH AFRICA. END SUMMARY. CENTRAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS WORK CONFERENCE, AUGUST 21-23 -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) HU JINTAO AND THE REST OF CHINA'S TOP LEADERSHIP HELD A "CENTRAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS WORK CONFERENCE" IN BEIJING ON AUGUST 21-23, ACCORDING TO PROMINENT CHINESE MEDIA COVERAGE AFTER THE EVENT. NEWS OF THE CONFERENCE DOMINATED THE FRONT PAGE OF THE AUGUST 24 PEOPLE'S DAILY AND WAS THE LEAD STORY ON THE AUGUST 23 EVENING CCTV NEWS, RECEIVING NEARLY 10 MINUTES OF AIR TIME. ALL NINE MEMBERS OF THE POLITBURO STANDING COMMITTEE, INCLUDING AILING HUANG JU AS WELL AS MANY OTHER SENIOR PARTY AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, WERE IN ATTENDANCE. HU JINTAO AND WEN JIABAO REPORTEDLY BOTH GAVE "IMPORTANT SPEECHES." ¶3. (U) THE MEETING EMPHASIZED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO CHINA'S DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENT AND MODERNIZATION, AS WELL AS CHINA'S COMMITMENT TO PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT AND CREATION OF A "HARMONIOUS WORLD," ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL CHINESE MEDIA COVERAGE. THE CONFERENCE OUTLINED FIVE SPECIFIC TASKS CHINA'S LEADERSHIP HOPES TO ACHIEVE: 1) MANAGING THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SITUATIONS AS A WHOLE; 2) ADHERING TO THE ROAD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT; 3) ADHERING TO A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL, WIN-WIN OPENING STRATEGY; 4) PERSEVERING IN BUILDING A HARMONIOUS WORLD; AND 5) ADHERING TO PEOPLE-CENTERED THINKING. ¶4. (SBU) THE CONFERENCE ALSO ADDRESSED CHINESE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY, ECONOMIC AND TRADE ISSUES, AND THE KEY ROLE OF THE PARTY IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS. FOR EXAMPLE, ON PUBLIC DIPLOMACY, CHINESE MEDIA STRESSED THAT CHINA MUST PURSUE CULTURAL EXCHANGES, ENGAGE IN "FOREIGN PROPAGANDA," AND "INTRODUCE CHINA'S OUTSTANDING CULTURE TO THE WORLD," ALL TO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER UNDERSTAND CHINA. ON TRADE AND THE ECONOMY, THE MEETING CONCLUDED THAT CHINA MUST CONTINUE OPENING AND REFORM, PROTECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, ACCELERATE THE CREATION OF INTERNATIONAL FREE TRADE ZONES, AND PROMOTE THE "BALANCED DEVELOPMENT" OF EXPORTS AND IMPORTS. CHINESE MEDIA ALSO STRESSED THE CENTRAL ROLE OF THE PARTY, REPORTING THE MEETINGS CONCLUSION THAT THE PARTY MUST STRENGTHEN ITS LEADERSHIP OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS WORK SO AS TO PROTECT NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY, SECURITY, AND DEVELOPMENT INTERESTS. LOCAL REACTION -------------- ¶5. (C) EMBASSY CONTACTS ON AUGUST 24 STRESSED THAT THE MEETING WAS BOTH UNUSUAL AND IMPORTANT. LONG-TIME EMBASSY CONTACT DONG LISHENG (PROTECT),DIRECTOR OF THE EUROPEAN STUDIES INSTITUTE AT THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (CASS),STATED THIS RARE MEETING IS LIKELY AN ATTEMPT BY HU JINTAO TO LEAVE HIS MARK ON CHINESE FOREIGN POLICY IN THE RUN UP TO THE SEVENTEENTH PARTY CONGRESS NEXT YEAR. DONG ALSO SPECULATED THAT THE MEETING MAY HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO SIGNAL THAT ECONOMIC OPENING AND REFORM WILL CONTINUE, BUT THE ACTIVITIES OF FOREIGN ENTITIES WILL FACE FURTHER RESTRICTIONS, GIVEN CHINESE LEADERS' FEARS THAT FOREIGN INFLUENCE MAY LEAD TO REGIME INSTABILITY AS IN THE CASES OF THE "COLOR REVOLUTIONS" IN SEVERAL FORMER SOVIET STATES. DONG SAID THAT THE CHINESE LEADERSHIP WAS DISCUSSING THE POTENTIAL FOR "COLOR REVOLUTION"-LIKE INSTABILITY IN CHINA IN INTERNAL MEETINGS AS RECENTLY AS ONE MONTH AGO. THE LEADERSHIP WAS CERTAIN TO HAVE DISCUSSED OTHER KEY FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES AT THE MEETING, DONG COMMENTED, BUT THOSE DISCUSSIONS WILL LIKELY NOT BE MADE PUBLIC. ¶6. (C) LIU DEXI (PROTECT),A DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL PARTY SCHOOL'S INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC STUDIES, SAID THE PARTY SCHOOL HELD MEETINGS ALL DAY ON AUGUST 24 TO DISCUSS THE CENTRAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS WORK CONFERENCE. LIU DESCRIBED THE MEETING AS UNUSUAL AND IMPORTANT, CLAIMING THAT IT CONTRIBUTED "MUCH NEW CONTENT" TO CHINAS FOREIGN AFFAIRS WORK. ASKED ABOUT THE SPECIFIC CONTENT, LIU SAID THE MEETING FOCUSED ON THE FACT THAT CHINA'S INTEGRATION AND ACTIVITIES WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD HAVE BEEN GROWING RAPIDLY IN THE RECENT PERIOD, CREATING SOME NEW "PROBLEMS" AND CARRYING THE POTENTIAL TO AFFECT CHINA'S INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT. MEETING DISCUSSIONS WERE NOT FOCUSED ON PROBLEMS OR RELATIONS WITH SPECIFIC COUNTRIES, HE ASSERTED, BUT DISCUSSED THE NEED TO STRENGTHEN MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS WORK. ¶7. (C) AS TO THE MEANING OF "STRENGTHENED MANAGEMENT," LIU SAID IT INCLUDED BOTH PROMOTION OF CONTINUED REFORM AND OPENING ON THE ECONOMIC SIDE AND IMPROVED OVERSIGHT AND STEPPED UP PROMOTION OF EXCHANGES AND PROGRAMS. THERE HAS BEEN INCREASED SCRUTINY RECENTLY OF CONFERENCES AND OTHER ACTIVITIES INVOLVING FOREIGNERS AND FOREIGN ORGANIZATIONS, HE CONCEDED, REFLECTING THE NEW EMPHASIS ON PARTY AND GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT OF EVENTS INVOLVING FOREIGNERS. HE ALSO POINTED OUT THAT STEPPED UP MANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS WORK WOULD MEAN BIGGER BUDGETS FOR SOME ORGANIZATIONS, BUT HE DID NOT SPECIFY WHICH ORGANIZATIONS THOSE WERE. ASKED IF THE FOREIGN MINISTRY COULD BE EXPECTED TO GAIN INFLUENCE FROM THE NEW CHANGES, LIU SAID, "NOT NECESSARILY." ¶8. (C) JAPANESE EMBASSY COUNTERPARTS REPORTED THEIR UNDERSTANDING THAT CHINESE LEADERS DISCUSSED A NUMBER OF FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES FOLLOWING HU JINTAO'S SPEECH AT THE CONFERENCE. IN THESE DISCUSSIONS HU REPORTEDLY STRESSED THAT RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO CHINA'S CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY. KOREAN PENINSULA AND JAPANESE RELATIONS WERE SECOND IN IMPORTANCE, FOLLOWED BY RELATIONS WITH THE REST OF CHINA'S NEIGHBORS. JAPANESE COUNTERPARTS NOTED WITH SURPRISE THEIR SOURCES' CLAIMS THAT AFRICA WAS RATED AS THE FOURTH MOST IMPORTANT REGION FOR CHINA, AHEAD OF EUROPE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD. HU JINTAO REPORTEDLY EMPHASIZED THE UPCOMING CHINA-AFRICA SUMMIT AND THE NEED FOR CHINA TO ASSIST IN AFRICAS DEVELOPMENT. ¶9. (C) FOREIGN MINISTRY COUNTERPARTS TOLD US ON AUGUST 24 THAT THEY DO NOT YET HAVE A READOUT ON THE MEETING, NOTING THAT THE FOREIGN MINISTRY WAS REPRESENTED ONLY AT THE VICE MINISTER LEVEL AND ABOVE. MFA CONTACTS ALSO STRESSED THAT THE SUBJECT OF THE MEETING WAS NOT SIMPLY CHINESE DIPLOMACY, BUT RATHER THE BROADER SUBJECT OF THE ENTIRE RANGE OF "FOREIGN AFFAIRS" THAT IMPACT CHINA'S DEVELOPMENT. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) MEDIA REPORTS OF THE MEETING CONCLUSIONS CONTAIN LITTLE THAT IS NEW, REHASHING FAMILIAR PHRASES LIKE "PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT," CREATING A "HARMONIOUS WORLD" AND PURSUING A "WIN-WIN OPENING STRATEGY" THAT PROMOTES DOMESTIC DEMAND AND LOOKS TOWARD ACHIEVEMENT OF A "WELL-OFF SOCIETY." HOLDING SUCH A HIGH-LEVEL MEETING TO DISCUSS FOREIGN AFFAIRS, HOWEVER, IS AN UNUSUAL EVENT, OCCURRING PREVIOUSLY ONLY IN 1971 AND 1991, AND IT SEEMS CLEAR THAT MANY OF THE DETAILS OF THE MEETING DISCUSSIONS WILL NOT BE RELEASED PUBLICLY. WE EXPECT THAT SOME DETAILS OF THE MEETING WILL EMERGE IN THE COMING DAYS, BUT INITIAL REACTIONS FROM CONTACTS HERE DO NOT INDICATE THAT THE CONFERENCE PORTENDS BIG CHANGES IN CHINA'S FOREIGN POLICY. SEDNEY