BEIJING UNIVERSITY SCHOLARS ENGAGE S/P DIRECTOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 007253

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2032
TAGS: PREL PHUM MARR MASS CH TW KS KN JA
SUBJECT: BEIJING UNIVERSITY SCHOLARS ENGAGE S/P DIRECTOR
GORDON ON TAIWAN, DEMOCRACY, ASIA POLICY, ALLIANCES

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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


1. (C) Meeting with prominent Beijing scholars, Policy
Planning Director David Gordon discussed U.S.-China strategic
policy issues, Taiwan, democracy and U.S. alliances in Asia.
His Chinese interlocutors questioned whether the United
States views China as a threat and noted the contradictions
between Washington's expectations of China as a "responsible
stakeholder" and China's own international relationships and
national interests. The Chinese professors argued that China
should be considered a "kind of democracy" and criticized
U.S. policy toward Taiwan's democracy as misinformed and U.S.
policy on Taiwan arms sales as contrary to its efforts to
build U.S-China relations. Bilateral U.S. alliances in Asia,
one professor argued, are inherently exclusive and should be
replaced by a multilateral framework that includes China.
End Summary.


2. (C) Director of Policy Planning David Gordon, accompanied
by James Green of the Policy Planning Staff, had a roundtable
discussion at Beijing University November 14 with Dean of the
Beijing University School of International Relations Wang
Jisi and a group of senior Beijing-based Chinese academics,
including Yuan Peng, the Director for North American Studies
of the Ministry of State Security-affiliated Chinese
Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR).

Strategic Issues and Foreign Policy
--------------


3. (C) CICIR Director for American Studies Yuan Peng noted
that for the "first time in history" the United States faces
two major types of threat simultaneously. The first threat
is terrorism, failed states and chaos; the second is a rising
power, specifically China. He noted that countries defined
by the United States as "rogue states," such as Iran, North
Korea, Sudan, Burma and Pakistan, are not necessarily China's
enemies. China wants to cooperate with the United States,
but must decide how to balance China's interests and
historical ties against its desire to "be responsible"
according to the U.S. definition of the term. Director
Gordon agreed that the threats of terrorism, extremism and
proliferation are real and global. China and other emerging
powers, however, are an opportunity for the United States,
not a threat.


4. (C) Director Gordon added that Iran is a potential global
threat because it aspires to revisionism. Other states Yuan
Peng mentioned are "challenged states, which have weak
institutions and bad governance, which together represent a
syndrome highly correlated with social and political
instability." As a global power, the United States has no
choice but to respond when crises occur in areas of
geo-strategic importance. China might find itself in a
similar position in the future. He asked how China's
sovereignty policy might evolve as China becomes a great
power with international interests.


5. (C) Beijing University Dean of International Relations
Wang Jisi said that for China to be a "responsible
stakeholder," it must take the sovereignty issue seriously.
Respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the internal
affairs of states will continue to be China's guiding
principle, he said, but China must also see the world as a
whole, rather than a collection of individual states. This
global foreign policy is the basis of President Hu's
"Harmonious World" concept. In certain cases, such as the
current unrest in Pakistan, China must respond to internal
events. China will not interfere, but will "consult and
persuade" on how these states should govern themselves.
Sovereignty is not an absolute concept, he said, and is open
to reinterpretation. "Reinterpretation is something the
Chinese are quite skilled at; look what we have done with
Marxism-Leninism," he said.


6. (C) Beijing University professor Zhu Feng noted China's
growing global confidence and, based on documents and
speeches published in the United States, the U.S.
"reconsideration" of China as a growing threat. In fact, Zhu
said, China is not a global threat. Looking at the issue
realistically, the best way for China to access the resources
it needs to continue growing is to be a free rider on the

existing global security system. Director Gordon agreed,
noting that the free rider problem is the basis for the U.S.
"responsible stakeholder" concept.

Democracy and Taiwan
--------------


7. (C) Zhu Feng stated that the United States should
"positively respond" to China's recently demonstrated
"dynamic domestic political momentum." Chinese and U.S.
political dynamics are different, he said, but Chinese
politics should be recognized "as one species of democracy."
Professor Yu Wanli made a similar point, noting that the
Chinese Government does not like the term "democracy" but
prefers to talk about "political development."


8. (C) Professor Liu Jianfei linked the issue of democracy to
Taiwan. The United States has the wrong perspective on
Taiwan's democracy; Chen Shui-bian does not govern "for, by
or of the people." Liu said the Democratic People's Party
(DPP) may use non-democratic methods to win the 2008 election
in Taiwan; in that case, how would the United States respond?


9. (C) Director Gordon noted that while Taiwan's democracy
has its flaws, it is nonetheless real and meaningful, and the
elections in 2008 will be fundamentally democratic. He added
that though the issue of democracy promotion will be debated
in the U.S. political system, it will remain part of U.S.
foreign policy. Professor Wang complained that "some Taiwan
people" are taking advantage of Taiwan's democracy to advance
goals that violate China's sovereignty principle. U.S.
weapons sales to Taiwan exacerbate this problem, he averred.
"It is important that pro-independence forces do not have any
excuse to take advantage of differences, whether between the
United States and China or between U.S. Government
departments." The short, moderate Taiwan portion of
President Hu Jintao's speech to the 17th Party Congress was
"a kind of gesture to the United States" and an
acknowledgement that U.S.-China relations have improved.
Now, however, "we need some damage control measures" due to
Chen's provocations.


10. (C) Zhu Feng, who also teaches at the Communist Party
School, piled on. He said that U.S. policy is "difficult to
explain" to the senior officials who are his students, noting
that China understands that the United States needs China's
cooperation in international issues, but that the United
States "confuses" people with its weapons sales to Taiwan.
"The United States helps China with its words, but Taiwan
with its deeds," he said. Director Gordon noted that in the
United States there is great sympathy for Taiwan as a
democracy, and the United States maintains a one China
policy. Any solution must be peaceful and non-coercive, he
noted.

Asia Policy and U.S. Alliances
--------------


11. (C) Professor Gui Yongtao asked if the United States
intends to continue to anchor its East Asia policy on
bilateral alliances, which from China's perspective are
inherently exclusive. These alliances, he said, strengthen
the U.S. position while hurting "others' interests." The
most important ongoing process in Asia is the Six-Party
Talks, he observed, which is not an alliance-based mechanism.
He noted recent statements by Secretary of Defense Gates
that even if the DPRK issue is resolved, the United States
intends to continue missile defense cooperation with Japan.
These statements "create mistrust and empower both right-wing
and pro-Taiwan elements" in Japan. A multilateral
organization would be preferable to an "imbalanced" bilateral
alliance, he said.


12. (C) There is no contradiction between strengthening our
bilateral alliances and deepening our multilateral
engagement, Director Gordon responded. Likewise, there is no
fundamental conflict between sustaining the bilateral
alliances that are "crucial to our security" and creating a
broader set of multilateral and bilateral relationships.
James Green noted that bilateral U.S. alliances with
Australia, the ROK and Japan are global in nature, and that
Australian and Korean forces have fought with U.S. soldiers
in many different conflicts. At this point, our bilateral
alliances are not a replaceable element of our security
infrastructure, he said.


13. (U) S/P staff cleared this message.
RANDT