PRC PROPOSES ISSUING LIMITED NUMBER OF ONE YEAR

1. (U) This is an action request. See para 5.



2. (SBU) MFA Office of Korean Peninsula Affairs Deputy
Director MA Jia called representatives from the U.S.,
ROK and Japanese Embassies February 7 to deliver
diplomatic notes proposing to issue one-year multiple
entry diplomatic visas to four officials from the
United States, Japan and ROK who work on Six-Party
Talks. In return, China requests the United States,
Japan and the ROK issue comparable visas to four PRC
officials working on the Six-Party Talks. (See
paragraph 4 for the translated note text.) Ma said
that Chinese, Russian and DPRK diplomats do not need
visas to enter each other's countries. Ma said China
is making this offer to make it easier for U.S.,
Japanese and South Korean officials to travel to China
on Six-Party Talks-related business.



3. (SBU) Poloff asked if the PRC is requesting that
the United States reduce the number of one-year
multiple entry visas issued to MFA officials to four,
to which a taken aback Ma responded "most definitely
not!" Poloff noted that a number of PRC MFA officials
who travel frequently to the United States already
have one-year multiple entry visas. Poloff noted that
by making this offer, China accepts in principle that
the PRC can issue such visas and that Beijing is
willing to do so when it is in China's interest, but
only as a special favor. Undertaking to report the
PRC proposal to Washington, Poloff suggested that
issuing longer validity multiple entry visas to
officials with a clear need for frequent travel should
not be viewed as a favor but rather as in the mutual
interest of all parties.



4. (SBU) Noh agreed with Poloff's position, making the
point that four visas are far too few. Suzuki said
some of the Japanese delegation members, like MOFA DDG
Sasae, already have one-year multiple-entry visas and
inquired if China would issue four additional visas.
Ma responded that China would issue four visas in
total for each country's delegation. Poloff commented
that some of the members of the PRC's Six-Party Talks
delegation already have one-year multiple entry visas
and asked if they would count against the total, to
which Ma made clear that the PRC is seeking four
additional multiple entry visas to be issued to Asian
Affairs Department officials. Ma said she would
convey the responses to her superiors.



5. (U) Action Request: Please provide post with
points to respond to the Chinese suggestion.



6. (U) Text of diplomatic note:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic
of China

(2006) Ministry note 11

The United States Embassy in China,

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's
Republic of China presents its compliments to the U.S.
Embassy in China and has the honor to inform it of the
following notice:

In order to facilitate the mutual efforts of China and
the United States and to promote the process of the
Six-Party Talks, China is willing to issue one-year
multiple-entry visas during 2006-2007 to four key
participants in the Six-Party talks from the U.S.
Department of State. The United States is free to
decide the recipients.

The Chinese hopes the United States will, in
accordance with the principle of reciprocity, issue
one-year multiple-entry visas during 2006-2007 to four
key participants in the Six-Party Talks from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic
of China.

(complimentary closing)

BEIJING 00002306 002 OF 002



(PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs seal)
February 5, 2006, Beijing.
Sedney