U.S.-CHINA POLICY PLANNING TALKS: CHINESE (AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 007262 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2032 TAGS: PREL PHUM PARM SENV IR KN JP IN AU CH SUBJECT: U.S.-CHINA POLICY PLANNING TALKS: CHINESE (AND U.S.) FOREIGN POLICY REF: BEIJING 7253 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) China's foreign policy must contribute to domestic economic development and be non-ideological and based on interests, not values, China's top policy planning diplomat told visiting U.S. Policy Planning Director David Gordon. U.S.-China relations have transcended the purely bilateral and are now strategic and global in nature, and we should cooperate on key issues where we share common interests, such as climate change, energy security and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The Chinese acknowledged that "we have a lot of work to do" on Iran. End Summary. ¶2. (C) U.S. Policy Planning Director David Gordon and James Green of the Policy Planning Staff visited Beijing November 12-15 for Policy Planning talks with Chinese MFA Director General for Policy Planning Ma Zhaoxu. On the Chinese side, Counselor Tang Guocai, Division Director Zhou Jian and First Secretary Yin Chengwu (of the North American and Oceanian SIPDIS Affairs Department's Fourth Division) also participated. Chinese Views of PRC Foreign Policy -------------- ¶3. (C) DG Ma opened the talks with a review of Chinese foreign policy. China's current foreign policy, he said, is based on six key points, all of which are "grounded" in the Political Report of the 17th Communist Party Congress (held in October 2007). These six points, which represent President Hu Jintao's "major signals" to the world, are: First: China is pursuing a "socialist road." Socialism with Chinese characteristics will be the "core value" of China's future development. China will develop its "socialist market economy" as well as its socialist democracy, socialist culture and "harmonious society." China's goal is to be "prosperous, strong, culturally advanced and socialist." This should not be confused with Soviet Union-style socialism, DG Ma cautioned: China's "socialist road" incorporates "the world's experiences of development, including the example of the United States." Second: The Chinese concept of socialism, and its foreign policy, is actually "higher and more comprehensive" than traditional Soviet socialism because it incorporates the idea of "scientific development." Scientific development includes the economy, the social life of the people, environmental sustainability and energy security. Third: China's foreign policy is fundamentally related to its domestic policy of building a "harmonious society." This harmonious society will include material wealth and the constant improvement of living conditions, but will also guarantee social equality and justice. Rule of law, democracy, honesty and integrity of government, and "vigor and vitality" of society are all key components of harmonious society, DG Ma said. Fourth: Upholding a peaceful international environment to allow China to develop is at the core of China's foreign policy. "At a certain time" in the future, China will be able to contribute more to international peace and stability, DG Ma said, but for now China's top priority is its own peaceful development. "This answers the international community's question as to what kind of road China will travel as an emerging power," he said. Fifth: China's vision for the international community can be expressed as "harmonious world," and this is how China intends to be a "responsible country." Politically, countries should respect each other; economically, they should cooperate; culturally, they should learn from each other; on security, they should trust each other and use peaceful means to resolve diplomatic problems; and on the environment, they should help each other to address challenges and "take good care of the Earth." Sixth: China's foreign policy is "win-win." This is a strategy of opening up China to the world and continuing to contribute to regional and global development through China's BEIJING 00007262 002 OF 003 own development. Under China's "win-win" foreign policy, China will accommodate the legitimate concerns of other countries, will never seek to benefit at the expense of another country, and will not shift its rightful burdens onto another country. ¶4. (C) Under the guidelines of the six concepts of Chinese foreign policy, the basis of Sino-U.S. relations is becoming clear, DG Ma said. China will continue to strengthen strategic dialogue, enhance mutual trust, deepen cooperation, deal with difficulties and push for stable, long-term relations. The United States is one of China's most important relationships, he added. All of the six concepts could be brought to bear in the Sino-U.S. relationship, but "harmonious world" offers the broadest opportunities to seek common ground and recognize mutual interests. Cooperation on trade and investment, energy and climate change look like especially fruitful areas to explore, he said. Sino-U.S. relations have "transcended" the merely bilateral and have become strategic and global; "to some extent, all of our cooperation has a strategic nature," he said, because U.S. and Chinese concerns have become so similar. HOTSPOTS: IRAN, DPRK, MIDDLE EAST, CLIMATE CHANGE -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) China's foreign policy can be distilled down to three key words, DG Ma said: peace, cooperation and development. The fundamental goal of China's foreign policy is to build the foundation for China's domestic economic development. With that in mind, China is particularly interested in how to address "hotspot" issues, such as Iran, the DPRK, the Middle East and climate change. ¶6. (C) Looking at geographic hot spots, it is a "mixed picture," DG Ma said. Big-power cooperation on the DPRK issue is strengthening, and China sees that situation as positive. Iran is less positive. "We still have more things to do" on Iran, and there are currently different tracks to achieve those goals. "On some of these tracks we are optimistic, on some we are not so optimistic," he said. In all, China "takes note" of the increasing expenditure of U.S. energy and resources in the Middle East, particularly Iran and the Israel-Palestine issue, and sees that expenditure as well as the "increasing willingness of the United States to pursue multilateral solutions" as the most important international developments of late. ¶7. (C) Climate change is the "hot issue" on the international agenda, along with the related issue of competition for energy resources. The key new variable in these issues is that all sides must note and acknowledge the emergence of new powers, such as China. This emergence, against a background of globalization, is causing an adjustment of the international system. There are already manifestations of this, such as the "G-8 plus 5" grouping to address climate change and the "flourishing" of multilateral institutions and cooperation. The United States and China have "so much common ground" on climate change and should consult more closely. In particular, the United States and China should work together on identifying common but differentiated responsibilities, as well as a post-Kyoto way forward. ¶8. (C) Director Gordon noted that it is essential to build an international coalition to pressure Iran and prevent it from becoming a nuclear weapons state. Current international cooperation is a good start, but we are not yet on a trajectory toward achieving this goal. An Iranian nuclear capability would be an extraordinary threat to peace and development and would represent a huge threat of proliferation within the region and into Asia. China's role in preventing this is essential. ¶9. (C) Director Gordon agreed that the Six-Party Talks framework for addressing the Korean nuclear issue has been important and has enabled progress on denuclearization. However, for now it is important, in the words of former President Ronald Reagan, to "trust but verify." Values vs. Interests -------------- ¶10. (C) DG Ma reiterated that the emergence of new powers, including Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa, Mexico and China, is among the most important new developments in international relations. North-South cooperation and BEIJING 00007262 003 OF 003 dialogue, such as the G-8 plus 5, is good and important. However, some in the West have suggested the creation of "values-based" groupings, such as the "Quad" made up of the United States, India, Australia and Japan. Values-based groupings represent a Cold War mentality, DG Ma said. Throughout history, relationships based on shared interests have been "more reliable" than relationships based on shared values. In addition, DG Ma said, all countries share the same core values through their membership in the UN. Drawing distinctions between countries based on ideology is dangerous, because it "creates splits." China no longer makes foreign policy decisions based on ideology, ever since Deng Xiaoping's "great foreign policy shift" in which he stated that China would not create foreign alliances based on ideology alone. ¶11. (C) Director Gordon noted that U.S. foreign policy always integrates values and interests to some degree, and values today are relevant. Organizations in the United States that seek to influence politics are usually values-based, and as a result, values will remain a part of U.S. policy. China should not forget that the participation in politics of values-based organizations and the influence of values on U.S. foreign policy are among the strengths of U.S. society, Director Gordon said. The United States has no desire to recreate sharp ideological divisions in Asia and does not want countries to feel that they must choose between the United States and China. The United States will not support any mechanism that would lead to that kind of division. We share a similar political system with the ROK, Japan, Australia and India that is significantly different from China's. This shared political orientation provides a basis for discussion among these countries. ¶12. (C) The importance of values as a component of foreign policy is an issue China will have to address as it plays a larger role in the world, Director Gordon continued. China's current policy of maintaining a purely interests-based foreign policy while claiming to be a responsible power worldwide (reftel) may not be consistent. Burma's regime is a major violator of human rights; reacting to this crisis involves values rather than interests. Zimbabwe is a similar case; ts regime has brutalized and destroyed the livelihoods of its people. How can these issues be addressed in the narrow frame of sovereignty? "The way out of this dilemma is to forge an international system where every country can play its own constructive role," DG Ma answered. "Then we will have our harmonious world." ¶13. (U) S/P staff cleared this message. RANDT