NPC CHAIRMAN WU BANGGUO DISCUSSES PROMOTING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 000696 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE PLEASE PASS TO NASA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ETRD EFIN KIPR CH SUBJECT: NPC CHAIRMAN WU BANGGUO DISCUSSES PROMOTING BILATERAL TIES WITH U.S.-CHINA WORKING GROUP MEMBERS Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Congressional U.S.-China Working Group Representatives Mark Kirk, Rick Larsen and Tom Feeney discussed bilateral relations, Taiwan and economic issues with National People's Congress Chairman Wu Bangguo on January 10 at the Great Hall of the People. Representative Kirk outlined the Working Group's mission and specific initiatives, noting that it hoped to move bilateral relations forward through tangible cooperation and frank discussion. Representative Feeney asked about China's plans for improved IPR protection. Wu emphasized China's focus on maintaining stable cooperative relations with the United States, outlined lingering concerns over Taiwan and cited Chinese improvement in IPR protection, but said it would require a gradual process. He noted China's willingness to cooperate on issues of U.S. concern including non-proliferation, the DPRK and Iranian nuclear issues. China opposes Iran having a nuclear weapons program. In response to Representative Larsen's question about China's internal development, Wu said China is pursuing scientific development in order to change its growth model and address imbalances that have emerged from the rapid development of recent years. Wu encouraged continued and deepening cooperation and exchanges between the NPC and the U.S. Congress. End Summary. Focus on U.S.-China Relations -------------- ¶2. (SBU) National People's Congress (NPC) Chairman Wu Bangguo welcomed members of the House of Representatives U.S.-China Working Group and cited appreciation for their active work since he met with them in New York in September 2005. Representative Mark Kirk cited the Working Group's goal of making the U.S.-China relationship a top priority in Congress. Representative Rick Larsen described the Working Group's activities, noting a focus on maintaining bipartisan support for the relationship, educating Members about U.S.-China issues and maintaining a frank and open dialogue with Chinese counterparts about ways to move forward, both on areas of common interest and areas where we have differences. Noting that the U.S.-China relationship would be the most important of the 21st century, Representative Tom Feeney welcomed China's efforts to strengthen relations with the United States and particularly with the U.S. Congress. ¶3. (SBU) Wu responded to Representative Kirk's question about Chinese views on a successful Summit meeting in Washington in April by stressing the importance of stable U.S.-China relations for China's overall development. A hallmark of such stable relations is the continuing dialogue between the top leaders of the United States and China. President Bush and President Hu met five times in 2005 and China is very much looking forward to a successful Summit in ¶2006. While it is not strange that the United States and China have differences, common interests far outweigh those differences. The differences should not be politicized or be allowed to stand in the way of improving ties. ¶4. (SBU) Wu expressed appreciation for the need for China to be engaged with Members of Congress directly. China follows the U.S. political system closely, but there are many voices in Congress and often media reports are incorrect. The NPC has established exchange mechanisms with both Houses of Congress and the Working Group's efforts have been important in furthering exchanges and communication. In 2005, the NPC hosted 98 Congressional Members, Wu said, noting that he hopes more Members will come in the future, contributing to improved communication and a calmer approach to the relationship. More Relaxed in Taiwan but Concern Remains -------------- ¶5. (SBU) As to China's hopes for the Summit, Wu said BEIJING 00000696 002 OF 004 it was difficult to answer directly. China hopes to maintain the momentum of meetings between President Bush and President Hu. Each side should give due consideration to the other's concerns and Taiwan remains China's biggest concern. The cross-Strait situation has developed in a more relaxed way recently. The Chinese Government took a two-part approach to cross-Strait relations in 2005. The first part was passage of the anti-secession law while the second was to promote exchanges with Taiwan's opposition Party leaders. Wu noted that there has been a change in popular will in Taiwan that shows a shift away from support for Taiwan independence, as evidenced in the results of the December mayoral elections. ¶6. (SBU) China remains concerned, however, as the root cause of cross-Strait tensions has not yet been eliminated. Chen Shui-bian stated in his New Year speech that Taiwan is an independent country whose prospects will not be decided by the 1.3 billion people in China, but by the 23 million people on Taiwan. He reiterated his determination to complete his constitutional reengineering agenda by 2008, which means there will be no tranquility in the Taiwan Strait. While the Mainland is trying to promote closer ties, Chen put forward measures to create more obstacles, Wu stated. The most important issue is to oppose and contain Taiwan independence, an issue on which the United States and China share common interests. ¶7. (SBU) Reiterating China's hopes to hold an in- depth dialogue on mutual concerns, Wu said that China attaches importance to the same issues as the United States. The United States and China have good cooperation on counterterrorism, non-proliferation, the DPRK nuclear issue, the issue of Iran's nuclear weapons and UN reform. China agrees with the United States and the European Union that Iran should not have a nuclear weapons program, Wu said. China gives full consideration to U.S. concerns in these areas and also attaches importance to economic issues such as the exchange rate, the trade deficit and IPR protection. China's Internal Development -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Representative Larsen asked about developments inside China and how the government plans to deal with challenges in rural areas including unbalanced development. Wu said that while China has grown rapidly since 1978 to become the sixth largest economy in the world, problems have now emerged with China's development model. This is being addressed by President Hu Jintao and the central leadership through a new focus on "scientific development" and a "harmonious society," Wu stated. During its visits to Gansu province and Shanghai, the delegation will have an opportunity to see firsthand the extreme discrepancy in development. ¶9. (SBU) China's capital-intensive growth model must also be changed, Wu stated. Only 3.9 percent of China's growth can be attributed to technological and scientific contributions whereas the same figure in the United States is 70 percent, Wu said. The Chinese leadership just held a national conference on science and technology where it put forward a program of S&T development up until 2020. In the future, China must pay more attention to the quality, structure and efficiency of its economic growth. ¶10. (SBU) Wu told the Members that the Chinese leadership is all too aware of China's problems. Urban areas need to create 10 million jobs a year, 24 million people will be looking for jobs each year, 60 million disabled people need to be taken care of and 26 million people in rural areas live on less than fifty cents a day. While the most discussed problem of rural areas used to be how to improve agriculture, now China needs a coordinated plan for the development of rural and urban areas simultaneously. The leadership is working collectively on all these BEIJING 00000696 003 OF 004 problems. ¶11. (SBU) Taking a moment to address concerns about a China threat, Wu said that China's development will be continuous and irreversible. However, both China and India have played a constructive role in the world economy. China needs a peaceful international environment to pursue its development, which requires favorable relations with other countries, particularly the United States. This is why China emphasizes cooperation and solving problems. As EVFM Dai told Deputy Scretary Zoellick, China is not the former Sovit Union. It will not pursue an arms race or xpansionism. History has proved this road is adead end and China's history and cultural background would be inconsistent with such a curse. China has a win- win principle in develping relations with other countries and the next five years will be an important milestone in China's development, including economic, political, cultural and social development. IPR Protection Prospects -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Representative Feeney noted that while there are different views on China in the United States, one area where all parties seem to agree is on the inadequacy of IPR enforcement in China. Asked how China will go about ensuring that intellectual property protection meets international standards, Wu said that the importance of protecting intellectual property was featured in President Hu's speech at the national S&T conference. China is working to increase the proprietary ability of its own companies and recognizes the importance of IPR protection for enhancing creativity. China increased IPR investigations in 2005 and issued a judicial interpretation that lowers the judicial threshold for IPR protection. It created a leadership group led by Vice Premier Wu Yi and considered 2,600 IPR court cases in 2005. These efforts are sincere, but many people are willing to circumvent the laws for profit and a gradual process will be required. The environment will become more and more strict, Wu predicted, concluding by appealing for loosening restrictions on exports of high-tech products to China. ¶13. (SBU) Representative Kirk concluded the meeting by reviewing initiatives the Working Group is pursuing during its visit, including: -- joint rescue capabilities in the area of space programs, -- establishment of a telephone hotline between the Ministry of Defense and the Defense Department, -- establishment of the IPR Ombudsman position in the Chinese Embassy in Washington (Wu said the Ombudsman would take up his duties on January 14), -- an American professional football exhibition game in Shanghai, -- a cultural exchange marking the Year of China in Chicago in 2010, -- increasing student exchanges, particularly bringing American students to China and -- an international audit of licensed software use by Chinese government entities. ¶14. (SBU) Wu offered general support for further initiatives and exchanges. On the issue of legal software, he said the Finance Ministry has earmarked 250 million RMB in 2006 for purchase of legal software by local governments. Representative Kirk praised this initiative, but reiterated the importance of a reliable audit. ¶15. (U) Participants: U.S. Delegation BEIJING 00000696 004 OF 004 -------------- Representative Mark Kirk Representative Rick Larsen Representative Tom Feeney DCM David Sedney Steve Orlins, President, National Committee on U.S.- China Relations Richard Goldberg, Co-Staff Director, U.S.-China Working Group Dr. Yang Hong, Bryant University Embassy Control Officer Embassy Notetaker Chinese Delegation -------------- NPC Chairman Wu Bangguo NPC Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Jiang Enzhu NPC Foreign Affairs Comm. Vice Chairman Lu Congmin DCM Chinese Embassy in Washington Su Ge Staff and Interpreter ¶16. (U) The Delegation has cleared this cable. Randt