Austria Coming, Singapore Expanding, Cuban CG in

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 016394

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA, EB, EAP/CM, CA
STATE PASS USTR
USDOC FOR DAS LEVINE, 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, DAS LEVINE
USPACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON EINV CONS PINR CH
SUBJECT: Austria Coming, Singapore Expanding, Cuban CG in
Shanghai to Be New Consul General in Guangzhou

Ref: Guangzhou 5696

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1. (SBU) Summary: Austria is the newest European Union
country looking to open a Consulate General in Guangzhou in
the fall. Meanwhile, Singapore, which currently has a
Consulate General in Xiamen in Fujian Province, intends to
open a separate Consulate General in Guangzhou this summer,
because of the large numbers of Singaporeans engaged in a
multiplicity of enterprises in the Pearl River Delta.
British colleagues tell us that the Cuban Consul General in
Shanghai is being transferred to Guangzhou where she will
open a new Consulate General probably in September. This
will bring the number of Consulates General to 26, with
Peru, Argentina, and Chile probably still in the pipeline
perhaps to be joined by Hungary not to mention the on-
again, off-again Russians. End Summary.

Austria Coming
--------------

2. (SBU) The German Consul General in Guangzhou has told
Consular Corps colleagues that Austria will likely
establish a Consulate General in autumn of this year. A
chief focus will be on commercial matters, albeit a chief
consideration on the part of the local Foreign Affairs
Offices will be on having another European Consulate
capable of issuing business visas. Spain is the most
conspicuously absent European consulate representative,
given the large commercial interests of Spanish companies
in south China, but European colleagues note that Hungary
has been exploring the possibility of establishing a
Consulate while the Russians remain an on-again, off-again
proposition.

Singapore Expanding
--------------

3. (SBU) Separately the Singapore Consul General in Xiamen
in Fujian Province told colleagues that the island nation
will establish a separate Consulate General in Guangzhou.
The staffing is currently being decided, and it is likely
that the new post will be formally established in early
July. The Xiamen Consulate General was established because
of Fujian Province is the "home area" of the majority of
the ethnic Chinese in Singapore with a Vice Consul heading
a branch office in Guangzhou. The increasing numbers of
Singaporean business people and their families residing in
Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and other major commercial centers in
the Greater Pearl River Delta is the driver for the
establishment of the new Consulate General.

Cuba Coming On Strong
--------------

4. (SBU) The British Consul General has also learned from
his counterpart in Shanghai that the Cuban Consul General
there, Tania Velazquez, has indicated that she will soon be
assigned to Guangzhou, where she will establish a new Cuban
Consulate General, probably in September. She apparently
has been in Shanghai for only eight months. Since the
opening of their Consulate (reftel),the Mexicans have
maintained a low profile, perhaps because the post is
headed by a Consul rather than a Consul General. In this
context, there is some likelihood that the Cubans will be
more aggressive in establishing themselves as the leading
Latin American diplomatic force in Guangdong, particularly
if Peru, Argentina, and Chile do not move forward more
quickly with their plans.

Comment
--------------

5. (SBU) The twenty-three Consuls General currently in
Guangzhou have remarked among themselves that this is just
large enough a number for there to be a fairly active
Consulate community while small enough for considerable
familiarity with one another throughout the Corps. Adding

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three more Consulates General should not in of itself alter
that environment, but the addition of the Cubans does
portend potentially awkward, even unpleasant, situations.

DONG