Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BEIJING7064
2007-11-09 10:17:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

BEIJING-BASED G-5 CHIEFS OF MISSION ON PRC

Tags:  PREL PGOV ECON PHUM SENV CH FR GM JA UK BM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2708
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #7064/01 3131017
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 091017Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3388
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 1632
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3221
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 4194
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 1640
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 007064 

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2027
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON PHUM SENV CH FR GM JA UK BM
SUBJECT: BEIJING-BASED G-5 CHIEFS OF MISSION ON PRC
PERSONNEL CHANGES, SARKOZY VISIT, CHINA-JAPAN DIALOGUE,
EAST ASIAN SUMMIT, UPCOMING VISITS

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 007064

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2027
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON PHUM SENV CH FR GM JA UK BM
SUBJECT: BEIJING-BASED G-5 CHIEFS OF MISSION ON PRC
PERSONNEL CHANGES, SARKOZY VISIT, CHINA-JAPAN DIALOGUE,
EAST ASIAN SUMMIT, UPCOMING VISITS

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.
4 (b/d).

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


1. (C) Discussion at the November 9 bi-weekly G-5 Chiefs of
Mission gathering covered possible personnel changes
resulting from the mid-October 17th Communist Party Congress
and included speculation that Politburo members Zhang
Dejiang, Li Keqiang and Wang Qishan would become Vice
Premiers. The G-5 representatives noted that the MFA would
be losing its direct link to President Hu Jintao with the
departure of EVFM Dai Bingguo. Assistant Foreign Minister He
Yafei is expected to be promoted to Vice Foreign Minister in
charge of U.S. affairs. French DCM Nicolas Chapuis discussed
plans for President Sarkozy's upcoming China trip, which will
focus on climate change and the environment. Japanese DCM
Kunio Umeda said plans are being finalized for the upcoming
China-Japan Economic Dialogue as well as the East Asian
Summit. The Ambassadors from Germany and the UK also
discussed ongoing and upcoming visits. End Summary.

Participants
--------------


2. (C) UK Ambassador William Ehrman hosted German Ambassador
Dr. Michael Schaefer, Japanese DCM Kunio Umeda, French DCM
Nicholas Chapuis and the Ambassador November 9 for the
bi-weekly G-5 gathering of Beijing-based Chiefs of Mision.

Speculation on Changes at the Vice Premier Level
-------------- ---


3. (C) The French and Japanese DCMs agreed that Politburo
member and Guangdong Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang will
probably replace Wu Yi as Vice Premier, commenting that
Zhang's expected promotionpos disappointing because of
Zhang's educational background in the DPRK. UK Ambassador
Ehrman remembered having difficulties with Zhang while trying

to work with him on environmental issues in Guangdong.M
Ehrman said that Zhang had no interest in engaging on the
issues and ended up doing so only after being "encouraged" by
the Central Government.


4. (C) Other speculation on personnel changes included new
Politburo Standing Committee member Li Keqiang taking the
deceased Huang Ju's place as Executive Vice Premier and new
Politburo member Wang Qishan taking over Zeng Peiyan's Vice
Premier slot. It was agreed that Hui Liangyu will most
likely keep his Vice Premier position and that specific
portfolios associated with current positions will probably
change. It was also mentioned that Executive Vice Foreign
Minister Dai Bingguo wanted a position as Vice Premier but
did not get it.

Bo Xilai Prepares for Chongqing
--------------


5. (C) Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai, recently promoted to
the Politburo, has already written his farewell letters in
anticipation of his move to Chongqing as Party Secretary,
said French DCM Chapuis. Chapuis commented on the irony that
Bo Xilai's father, Bo Yibo, sent Hu Jintao to Tibet and now
the tables had turned, with Hu sending the younger Bo to the
provinces. Chapuis said that Chongqing represents a
challenging opportunity as all of the problems of the Three
Gorges Dam eventually end up in Chongqing, so there is an
opportunity to shine and manage those problems well, but also
to fail miserably.

MFA Loses and Gains as a Result of Personnel Changes
-------------- --------------


6. (C) French DCM Chapuis said that the MFA has been
"demoted" a bit as a result of personnel changes. The
impending departure of EFVM Dai Bingguo and his expected
replacement by UN PermRep Wang Guangya at the Central Office
for Foreign Affairs and Wang Yi (until recently Ambassador to
Japan) as EVFM and MFA Party Secretary will mean that the MFA
will lose its direct channel to Hu Jintao. On the other
hand, the MFA did gain an additional seat on the Central
Committee, increasing its number to five.


7. (C) There was general agreement that Assistant Foreign
Minister He Yafei is expected to be promoted to Vice Foreign
Minister and to take over for VFM Zhang Yesui as head of

BEIJING 00007064 002 OF 003


North American Affairs after Zhang takes up his new position
as Ambassador to the United Nations (replacing Wang Guangya).
(Bio Note: Zhang is reputed to be one of the best tennis and
bridge players at the MFA.)

Sarkozy Visit - Plans to Focus on the Environment
-------------- --------------


8. (C) Senior Diplomatic Advisor to French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, Jean-David Levitte, arrived in Beijing on November 9
for talks with EVFM Dai Bingguo ahead of Sarkozy's November
25-27 visit to China. Representatives of the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs and Finance are included in the delegation,
but the Ministry of Defense is not participating. French DCM
Chapuis said that in planning for the visit, protocol
questions following the personnel changes during the 17th
Party Congress at times left them unsure as to with whom they
should be scheduling meetings. The Chinese have promised to
resolve those issues during Levitte's visit.


9. (C) Chapuis reported that Sarkozy intends to focus on the
environment and climate cha~ae and will be incorporating
language regarding the topics from his recent speech at ASEM
and a draft China-EU summit document into his talking points
and speeches, including a speech planned for November 27 at
Tsinghua University. Sarkozy views his visit as an

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opportunity to continue discussions from the Heiligendamm
G8-plus-5 meetings. The two sides are currently negotiating
the text of a joint statement on the environment, which the
French want to title "Environment and Sustainable
Development" but the Chinese want to call "Climate Change."
Chapuis added that the MFA is in charge of the negotiations
for the Chinese side, not the Ministry of the Environment.


10. (C) Other topics to be discussed during Sarkozy's visit
include sovereign wealth funds, civilian nuclear cooperation,
intellectual property rights, Burma and Iran. Chapuis said
the fKQQaQ{otiations between China and Japan
are scheduled to resume during the week of November 12, Umeda
reported. The East Asia Summit will be held November 20-23.
Japan will participate in trilateral meetings with South
Korea and China, and there will be a China-Japan summit on
November 20. Umeda said that the Dalai Lama will be in Japan
November 14-23, but that he has been invited by a Buddhist
association and will not be meeting with any government
leaders.

Nanjing Massacre Anniversary
--------------


13. (C) Umeda reported that Chinese officials have said China
will try to play down the upcoming 70th anniversary of the
Nanjing Massacre on December 13.

Former Chancellor Schroeder Criticizes Merkel
--------------


14. (C) German Ambassador Schaefer reported that former
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder visited China this week on a
private trip. He gave a speech at a seminar sponsored by the
Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs and caused a
stir by criticizing Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent meeting
with the Dalai Lama. He said that in the past visits had
always been kept at the ministerial level and emphasized that
Germany's China policy had not changed.

German Visitors Discuss Finance and the Environment
-------------- --------------

BEIJING 00007064 003 OF 003


PERSONNEL CHANGES, SARKOZY VISIT, CHINA-JAPAN DIALOGUE,
EAST ASIAN SUMMIT, UPCOMING VISITS



15. (C) During Head of the German Central Bank Jean-Claude
Trichet's recent visit to China, discussions focused mainly
on the exchange rate mechanism, Ambassador Schaefer reported.
The Chinese are well aware that the exchange rate is an
issue and seem to be studying it. He added that German
Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck will visit Beijing and
Shanghai December 4-6 and plans to focus his discussions o
financial policy. Minister for Environment and Nuclear
Safety Sigmar Gabriel will visit China after the UN Climate
Change conference in Bali.

Tony Blair's Visit
--------------


16. (C) UK Ambassador William Ehrman discussed former Prime
Minister Tony Blair's recent trips to China in which he gave
a speech in Beijing, flew to Israel, then returned to Hong
Kong and Dongguan (Guangdong province) to speak. Ehrman said
that for attendees, especially in Dongguan, the speeches did
not seem to matter as much as the photo opportunities with
Blair. French DCM Chapuis said he had heard Blair was paid
USD500,000 for each engagement. Ehrman said that Blair also
met with State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and raised Burma, but
got only the usual Chinese responses.

Gordon Brown and Other Planned Visits
--------------


17. (C) Ambassador Ehrman reported that Prime Minister Gordon
Brown's China visit is now scheduled for January 18-19 and
that FM Yang Jiechi will visit London December 5-6 in advance
of that visit. A trip by London Metropolitan Police Service
Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has been cancelled due to a
no-confidence vote following the recent verdicts in the
London subway shooting case. Ehrman also mentioned planned
visits by UK Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, Secretary of
State for International Development Douglas Alexander, and
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling.
Randt