TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY PETERSQ MEETING WITH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 002798

SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELTN BEXP PGOV KOLY OVIP SECRETARY PETERS CH
SUBJECT: TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY PETERSQ MEETING WITH
MINISTER OF CONSTRUCTION WANG GUANGTAO: THE IMPORTANCE OF
URBAN TRANSPORT



1. (SBU) In a meeting with Secretary of Transportation Mary

E. Peters on April 14, Minister of Construction Wang
Guangtao stressed that public transportation is a priority
in China. He announced his attention to visit the United
States in June or July to discuss implementing the soon to
be signed Memorandum of Cooperation. Peters congratulated
China on its progress in public transportation. She
offered to help arrange for representatives from United
States cities with Olympic experience to share their
expertise with Chinese counterparts. Wang and Peters
signed a Memorandum of Cooperation for the purpose of
promoting cooperation in the field of urban mass
transportation. End Summary.


2. (U) Minister of Construction Wang Guangtao hosted
Secretary of Transportation Peters, her delegation, the

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Ambassador and Embassy officers at a 35-minute meeting on
Saturday, April 14.

Public Transport a Priority
--------------


3. (SBU) Minister Wang said Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice
Premier Zeng Peiyan instructed him some years ago to make
public transportation a priority. Furthermore, they
stipulated that public transportation should proceed in a
way to promote fuel efficiency, environmental protection,
and land conservation.


4. (SBU) Secretary Peters congratulated Wang on the
progress China has made in the area of public
transportation. She stressed the importance of new
technologies such as signal preemption to encourage
travelers to take public transportation. She offered to
help arrange for representatives from cities in the United
States that have recent experience with the Olympics such
as Atlanta or Los Angeles to come to China and share their
expertise. She also offered to help arrange a meeting
between the Minister and Mr. Bill Milar, President of the
Public Transportation Association. Wang thanked Peters for
her offers and expressed a particular interest in meeting
Milar.

Cooperation on Urban Mass Transportation
--------------


5. (SBU) Turning to the soon to be signed QMemorandum of
Cooperation between the Department of Transportation and
the Ministry of Construction,Q Wang said it is important
for both sides to consider commercial areas of cooperation
in the implementation of the memorandum. Wang said he
would like to visit the United States in June or July to
discuss this, thereby also reciprocating the visits of
Secretaries Mineta and Peters. China, Wang said, recently

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passed its first public transit law and numerous Chinese
cities are working on rail transport and mass surface
transport systems. China is also giving serious thought
about the transportation requirements that would be
necessary if a large scale evacuation were needed during
the Olympic Games aQ World Expo. Wang said China should
emulate the United States which stresses public transport
even though it has the worldQs largest number of
automobiles. The United States and China should strengthen
their cooperation in rail transportation and the management
of surface transportation.


6. (SBU) Peters and Wang signed a Memorandum of Cooperation
designed to promote cooperation in the field of urban mass
transportation.

United States Participants
--------------


7. (U) United States Government participants in this April
14 meeting were:

Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters

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Ambassador Clark T. Randt, Jr.
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs
Andrew Steinberg
Deputy Chief of Staff Simon Gros
Assistant to the Secretary for Policy Jana Weir

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Assistant to the Secretary for Public Affairs Sarah Echols
Embassy MinistQCounselor for Economic Affairs Robert Luke
Embassy Economic Section Trade and Investment Policy Unit
Chief Eric Madison(note taker)
Embassy Foreign Commercial Service Officer Val Huston
Embassy Economic Officer Kamal Latham (control)


8. (U) Ministry of Construction participants were:

Minister of Construction WANG Guangtao
Deputy Director General of the Department of Urban
Development WANG Fengwu
Director of Urban Transportation LAN Rong
Deputy Director General of the International Department
ZHENG Shulin


9. (U) Secretary PetersQ delegation has cleared this report
Qmeeting.

RANDT