Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BEIJING1960
2007-03-22 08:16:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

KOSOVO: CHINESE MFA SEES POSITIONS HARDENING

Tags:  PREL UNSC ZL CH RS SR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2111
OO RUEHCN RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHGH RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #1960 0810816
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 220816Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6090
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 001960 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2017
TAGS: PREL UNSC ZL CH RS SR
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: CHINESE MFA SEES POSITIONS HARDENING

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Daniel Shields.
Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 001960

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2017
TAGS: PREL UNSC ZL CH RS SR
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: CHINESE MFA SEES POSITIONS HARDENING

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Daniel Shields.
Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) China sees positions concerning Kosovo as hardening,
both between Serbs and Kosovars and among some UNSC members,
the Deputy Director for MFA's Balkans Division told poloff.
China supports Special Envoy Ahtisaari's efforts, but
Beijing's position that it will only back a result agreed to
by all sides remains unchanged. PermRep Wang Guangya in New
York has consulted with Serb and Kosovar representatives.
China thinks the views of Europe and Russia on Kosovo deserve
deference, but Beijing does not expect Kosovo to be a
significant topic in talks during President Hu Jintao's
upcoming visit to Moscow. End Summary.


2. (C) After the March 10 breakdown in talks between Serbs
and Kosovar Albanians, China sees little likelihood of
compromise over Kosovo's future, MFA Europe Department
Balkans Division Deputy Director Hua Yafang told poloff March

22. China supports Special Envoy Ahtisaari in his efforts to
find a solution agreeable to both sides, but is growing less
optimistic. Beijing has not formulated a firm overall
position on the details of Ahtisaari's plan, but its position
of only supporting a solution agreeable to both Kosovars and
Serbs remains unchanged, she said. China's PermRep in New
York Ambassador Wang Guangya has consulted with Serb and
Kosovar representatives. China sees positions hardening,
including among UNSC members, especially Russia, she said.

Chinese Interests, Peacekeepers Limited
--------------


3. (C) Hua said China has 15 police advisers now supporting
the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). The current rotation is
China's fourth rotation of personnel with UNMIK. Hua
observed that Ahtisaari's plan will require continued
military support, but she said China has no position on
whether it would continue to contribute personnel.
Generally, China's interests in the Balkans are remote. Some
400 Chinese live in Kosovo, mostly operating restaurants and
engaged in low-level trade, while the Chinese population of
Serbia has reached 4,000, well down from the 10,000 Chinese
in the region before the war, she said. China last year
reopened its Embassy to Bosnia in Sarajevo, she said, adding
that China has "no hard feelings" remaining from the bombing
of its Embassy in Belgrade in 1999.

Kosovo Not A Major Topic for Hu and Putin
--------------


4. (C) China's interests in the Balkans are remote, but
European and Russian interests are more acute and might merit
deference, she suggested. Hua said Kosovo would come up on
the margins of discussions between Presidents Hu and Putin
when Hu visits Russia March 26-28, but Kosovo is unlikely to
be a major topic. Her Department was not asked to provide
significant briefing materials on Kosovo for President Hu's
trip, she said.


5. (C) Hua asked about United States' views on a Russian
proposal that Ahtisaari be replaced as Special Envoy when his
term expires in June and asked about American views on a
unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo. Poloff
told Hua that the State Department Spokesman on March 20 made
clear that the United States supports Ahtisaari and provided
her with a copy of pertinent points from the press briefing.


6. (C) MFA's International Organizations Department will have
the lead on China's position for action in the UN Security
Council, Hua stressed, but she noted that MFA is willing to
have more exchange with the United States through regional
departments on issues such as the Balkans. She said the
meeting was the first her Department has had with officials
from the United States Embassy, including during the period
after the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in the former
Yugoslavia.
RANDT