BEIJING-BASED CHIEFS OF MISSION ON WEN JIABAO IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 019793 SIPDIS SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y -- PARA 13 AND 17 CLASSIFICATION NSC FOR WILDER E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2026 TAGS: PREL PGOV AMGT CASC FR GM JA UK EUN CH SUBJECT: BEIJING-BASED CHIEFS OF MISSION ON WEN JIABAO IN EUROPE, JOURNALISTS AT OLYMPICS, CHIRAC VISIT, CHINA-JAPAN RELATIONS, NEW JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER, NORTH KOREA BEIJING 00019793 001.2 OF 004 Classified By: Ambassador Clark T. Randt, Jr. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Premier Wen Jiabao told Prime Minister Blair China is gradually reforming its political and administrative structure. UK Ambassador Ehrman said that the two discussed Iran, Lebanon, North Korea, human rights, trade issues and China's economic growth during their London meeting. FM Li Zhaoxing said Beijing this fall will ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China has signed but failed to ratify. During the Beijing Olympics, journalists will be allowed to travel freely and to conduct interviews without obtaining advance government permission and international norms towards journalists will be observed, according to a Beijing Olympic Committee official. Wen was pleased with the visit, stating that China-UK relations have never been better. ¶2. (C) In Germany, Wen visited Hamburg and Berlin, attended the "China Meets Europe" trade show and met with Chancellor Merkel, said the German Charge. Germany hosted a second China-Germany conference on civil society chaired by Siemens Chairman Heinrich Von Pierer. Germany will have its first Strategic Dialogue with China in November, said the German Charge. French President Chirac will visit China from October 25, the French Ambassador said. Despite Japanese media reports about China's conciliatory mood, the Japanese Ambassador believes China remains cautious, as indicated by the low volume of official travelers to Japan from China. The new Japanese Prime Minister will try to improve relations with Beijing, reflecting popular opinion in Japan, he said. Many saw Hu Jintao's recent address on Chinese Foreign Policy as an attempt to assert greater control over foreign policy, according to the Japanese Ambassador. He added that some in the PLA are concerned that a North Korean nuclear test will cause the Japanese public to demand that Japan develop nuclear weapons. End Summary. Participants -------------- ¶3. (C) The Ambassador, UK Ambassador William Ehrman, Japanese Ambassador Yuji Miyamoto, French Ambassador Philippe Guelluy and German Charge Aristide Fenster met September 15 for the bi-weekly G-5 gathering of Beijing-based Chiefs of Mission, the first since July. Blair Meetings with Wen -------------- ¶4. (C) Premier Wen met with Prime Minister Blair, Deputy PM Prescott and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and had dinner with business leaders during his recent visit to London, all after attending the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the EU-China Summit in Helsinki, Ambassador Ehrman said. PM Blair also hosted Wen for lunch, at which Wen compared Chinese economic growth to a ship that is moving forward steadily and rapidly but must not be capsized. Wen stated China's political system, like its economic system, is undergoing gradual political and administrative structure reform. Noting that village-level elections already exist in China, Wen said the next step is the township level but this can not move forward until village elections are properly implemented. This could take a long time, conjectured Ehrman. ¶5. (C) PM Blair raised human rights issues and noted that without Chinese help, the UK cannot continue to resist protectionist pressures. PM Blair raised concerns about Xinhua's recent attempt to control news distribution by foreign agencies in China. Wen replied that the new regulations will not present any obstructions but that the foreign press must obey Chinese laws. Ehrman noted that the British Embassy has demarched the MFA and written a letter to Commerce Minister Bo Xilai noting that Xinhua is both regulator and competitor and stating that the new regulations are contrary to China's WTO commitments. The two also discussed the Middle-East, Iran, Lebanon and North Korea. On Iran, Wen said all parties involved must work together, while BEIJING 00019793 002.2 OF 004 warning that sanctions will be difficult, according to Ehrman. Other UK Meetings -------------- ¶6. (C) FM Beckett raised similar issues in her bilateral meeting with FM Li Zhaoxing, said the British Ambassador. Li told FM Beckett that Beijing will finally this fall ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),which China has signed but failed to ratify. Blair and Beckett separately pressed Premier Wen and FM Li to support UN rehatting of African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) peacekeepers, Ehrman noted. ¶7. (C) Premier Wen made an appearance at a meeting of the UK-China Task Force chaired by Deputy PM Prescott and State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan. Ehrman said that Chairman of the State National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Ma Kai, Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing also attended. Prescott will come to China in early November for the next round of Task Force meetings. The Sino-UK working group also met and discussed energy cooperation, climate change and sustainable development, Ehrman added. Olympics Meeting -------------- ¶8. (C) In a meeting with the UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Tessa Jowell, the Chairman of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympiad Games (BOCOG) and Beijing Party Secretary Liu Qi said that both accredited and non-accredited journalists will be allowed to travel freely in China during the 2008 Olympics. He also said that international norms towards journalists will be observed and that journalists will be allowed to conduct interviews without obtaining advance government permission, Ehrman recounted. Liu Qi told Jowell that new regulations to be issued in January 2007 will make this clear. ¶9. (C) In the run up to the Beijing Olympics, in 2008 Great Britain will host the "China Now" Festival, sponsored by China's HSBC Bank, to promote UK firms and encourage UK participation in the Olympics, Ehrman said. Wen Pleased with Visit -------------- ¶10. (C) Ehrman commented that Premier Wen was very pleased with the visit, making a public statement that China-UK relations have never been better. During Wen's visit, over USD one billion of contracts were signed, including one for Rolls Royce commercial aircraft engines and one by the UK company Arup for the design of the new Kunming Airport. The UK also announced that it will participate in the upcoming Shanghai Expo, noted Ehrman. Wen's Visit to Germany -------------- ¶11. (C) Chancellor Merkel met with Premier Wen for the second time in four months during his recent visit to Germany, said Charge Fenster. In Hamburg, Wen attended the "China Meets Europe" trade show, then took the train to Berlin where he discussed IPR, energy, transportation, and export credit issues, among others. Merkel was critical of China's human rights record and Xinhua's recent attempt to control distribution of news by foreign agencies in China. She also discussed Lebanon, North Korea, Iran and East Asia with Premier Wen, who in turn pressed Merkel to increase youth exchanges with China. Fenster recounted that the German MFA responded to Wen's interest in youth exchanges by transforming a proposed MOU on the topic into an actual federal agreement, which both parties signed. The Germans also agreed to allow the Chinese to open new Confucius Institutes in Hamburg and Hanover, bringing the total in Germany to six. The German company BASF signed a large contract with China's Sinopec during Wen's visit, Fenster noted. BEIJING 00019793 003.2 OF 004 German-China Meetings on Civil Society -------------- ¶12. (C) Germany hosted the second China-Germany conference on civil society from September 4-5, with meetings chaired by Siemens Chairman Heinrich Von Pierer. Topics discussed included the image of China in Germany as well as that of Germany in China, energy efficiency, innovative societies and property rights in Germany and China. Chirac's "Swan Song" Visit to China -------------- ¶13. (C) In what is likely to be his final visit to China as President, French President Chirac will visit Beijing from October 25-26, Wuhan until October 28 and Dunhuang and the Mogao Caves thereafter, said Ambassador Guelluy. France maintains a Consulate in Wuhan and it has proved an important and active post for France, said Guelluy. Chirac will visit French car-maker Peugeot's facility in Wuhan and take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for an addition that will double the existing plant's production capacity. Chirac will also witness the signing of a bilateral medical agreement whereby France will assist China to develop new liver surgery technology. Former Prime Minister Raffarin will accompany Chirac, along with other yet-to-be determined ministers. Sino-Japanese Relations Still Tense -------------- ¶14. (C) Japanese officials are still traveling to China, but very few Chinese officials are coming to Japan, commented Ambassador Miyamoto. The only significant recent visits were by Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai and the head of China's Electricity Commission who came to Japan to discuss electricity grid control. Although Japanese journalists are reporting that China is in a conciliatory mood towards Japan, Miyamoto believes that the low volume of official travel indicates that Beijing remains cautious. A new Japanese Prime Minister will present an opportunity to improve the relationship, according to Miyamoto, who said "it will be Abe," and that "the deal is done." Miyamoto, who served as Abe's father's private secretary, believes Abe's attitude toward China will reflect popular opinion in Japan: while most Japanese feel China should not intervene in Japanese internal political affairs, 70 to 80 percent would like Japan to have better relations with China. ¶15. (C) Asked whether President Hu and Abe will meet at the upcoming APEC Summit, Miyamoto said there is no current plan for such a meeting, but Japan would like to arrange one. He further noted that indications from Beijing are that meetings for a new Japanese Prime Minister should begin with Wen Jiabao, meaning on the margins of the East Asia Summit in December at the earliest. President Hu Speech on Foreign Policy -------------- ¶16. (C) President Hu's speech on foreign policy at the "Central Foreign Affairs Work Conference" held in Beijing on August 21-23 was a rare thing, according to Miyamoto. Chinese contacts described President Hu's message as emphasizing that foreign relations must serve China's development and that the Party and the military must support these efforts, said Miyamoto. The message Japan took from the speech was that China should not provoke Japan, for example by sending submarines into Japanese waters. Many saw the speech as an effort by Hu to assert greater control over foreign policy, noted Miyamoto. North Korea -------------- ¶17. (C) In a general discussion on North Korea, Ambassador Miyamoto stated that Japan's PLA contacts are concerned that a North Korean nuclear test will cause the Japanese public to demand that Japan develop nuclear weapons. Miyamoto agreed that this was a potential outcome of such a test. Upcoming High-level Visits BEIJING 00019793 004.2 OF 004 -------------- --(C) September 20-24, the German Minister of Transportation will visit Shanghai and Beijing. --(C) September 22-23, Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo will participate in another Strategic Dialogue with DFM Yachi in Tokyo. This will be Dai's sixth trip to Tokyo this year, according to Miyamoto. --(C) On October 8, France will hold a Strategic Dialogue with China; Di Bingguo will represent China. Late in October, Minister of Trade LaGarde will come to China for bilateral trade discussions with Zeng Peiyan. --(C) October 29-30, the German Minister of Defense will visit China. --(C) On October 30, Berlin will host a bilateral dialogue on human rights. MFA Special Representative for Human Rights Shen Yongxiang will attend and has said he looks forward to discussing recent allegations of torture in Germany, according to the German Charge. --(C) November 6-7, Germany will have its first Strategic Dialogue with China. German State Secretary Silverberg and Chinese VM Zhang Yesui will participate. Topics to be discussed are partnership, the global economy, energy, technology transfer, sustainable development, IPR, African relations and, if time allows, Latin American relations. --(C) Former German Chancellor Kohl will come to Beijing and Shanghai on behalf of Generali Insurance Company and will meet with National People's Congress Vice Chairman Raidi. RANDT