PREMIER WEN JIABAO'S JAPAN VISIT: GETTING BACK ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 001743

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/18/2017
TAGS: PREL CH TW KS JA
SUBJECT: PREMIER WEN JIABAO'S JAPAN VISIT: GETTING BACK ON
TRACK

REF: A. TOKYO 01555


B. BEIJING 02483

C. BEIJING 02481

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Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d).


1. (C) Summary: Marked more by warm atmospherics rather
than specific agreements, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's April
11-13 Japan visit is being characterized as a successful and
important step forward in the relationship by Japanese
diplomats and others. One disappointment, however, was the
failure to reach agreement on joint gas development in the
East China Sea prior to the summit. The Japanese media
featured Wen's "man of the people" approach and praised Prime
Minister Abe and Wen's agreement to boost cooperation on
energy and environmental protection. Wen's deft use of
public diplomacy succeeded in improving Japanese public
perceptions of China and his visit likely paved the way for
future high-level visits. End Summary.


2. (C) Premier Wen Jiabao's April 11-13 visit to Japan was
hailed as a major success by nearly all those involved. His
56-hour visit was packed with official and informal events.
Arriving in the afternoon on April 11, Wen spent the rest of
the day with PM Shinzo Abe, first during a 1.5-hour meeting
and then at a 1.5-hour dinner.


3. (C) On the 12th, following a well-publicized jog in the
park, he met separately with Lower House leader Yohei Kono
and Upper House President Chikage Ogi before addressing a
joint session of the Diet. After speaking to a luncheon
hosted by Keidanren (Japan Business Federation),he had a
brief audience with the Emperor. He then rejoined PM Abe to
kickoff the inaugural meeting of a new high-level bilateral
economic dialogue. He spent much of the afternoon in
separate 15-20 minute meetings with the heads of Japan's
primary political parties: Liberal Democratic Party, New
Komeito, Democratic Party of Japan, Social Democratic Party
and Communist Party. He ended the day with a reception
celebrating the 35th anniversary of the establishment of
relations between the PRC and Japan.


4. (C) After a brief flight on the 13th to Kyoto, Wen met
local political and business leaders before touring the area,
visiting a farm family and playing baseball with students at
Ritsumeikan University. He addressed a business symposium
before returning to Beijing that evening.


5. (C) The major deliverable from the visit, according to
MOFA sources, was the kickoff of a newly elevated economic
dialogue. Abe and Wen attended the startup meeting and
announced that MOFA Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Chinese
Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan will co-chair the first formal
session of the talks to be held in Beijing later this year.
MOFA China Division Director Akiba relayed on April 16 that
jockeying among the various Japanese government agencies for
the leading role in the new economic dialogue had been
intense. Akiba indicated that Foreign Minister Aso's
substantial political strength had been the major factor in
securing MOFA's position as the head of the Japanese side.


6. (C) In addition to increased economic cooperation, Abe and
Wen agreed to boost efforts on energy cooperation and
environmental conservation. China agreed to join
international talks on a post-Kyoto framework, which could
result in Beijing cutting greenhouse gas emissions, MOFA
China Division Principal Deputy Director Kazuya Endo asserted
on April 23. Tokyo and Beijing also agreed to strengthen
environmental protection efforts to reduce air and water
pollution. Japan will seek to improve energy efficiency in
China by sharing Japanese technology.


7. (C) China agreed to establish regular civil passenger
charter flights between Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Shanghai's
Hongqiao Airport. Japan was disappointed Beijing was
unwilling to set a start date for the new aviation routes to
take effect, but understands Beijing needs to resolve
technical obstacles first. Endo noted that Beijing is
committed to increasing aviation routes, but due to its
cumbersome bureaucracy, will need time to cut through the
"red tape" necessary to equip Hongqiao, which only handles
domestic traffic at present, for international flights. In
addition, the South Koreans are also pressing the Chinese to

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allow flights from Korea to land at Hongqiao Airport,
according to Endo. Consequently, the Chinese, in
consideration of their relations with Seoul, would likely
want to reach agreement with Korea before accepting flights
from Tokyo, Endo said.


8. (C) The failure to reach an agreement on joint
development in the East China Sea before the summit was
disappointing, and Tokyo will seek to reach an agreement
before autumn, Endo conveyed. The joint press statement's
language on East China Sea included new wording but did not
offer any new ideas, and the distance between Tokyo and
Beijing on joint development will be difficult to bridge,
Endo acknowledged. Japan pushed for joint development of
four gas fields, including the Shirakaba gas field (Chuxiao
in Chinese) located near the median line. Beijing was
unwilling to compromise, and the wording of the joint
statement reflects Beijing's unchanged stance.


9. (C) Behind-the-scenes negotiation over the joint press
statement continued right up until Wen arrived in Tokyo, Endo
shared. Tokyo was pleased with the final draft and
considered the joint statement text on "Chinese sympathy and
understanding toward the humanitarian concern of Japanese
people" to be a new and positive change on China's part. The
statement indicating that Beijing hopes Japan will play "an
even greater role in the international community," and is a
step toward reaching a common understanding on UN reform,
Endo suggested. Both statements are significant because,
even though Chinese leaders have already verbally conveyed
this to Japan several times over the past few months, it is
the first time China has included it in a written statement,
he emphasized.


10. (C) PM Abe pressed Wen for increased transparency in PRC
defense matters and also asked for greater transparency in
China's foreign assistance, according to MOFA contacts. Wen
downplayed controversial issues during his visit, showing
restraint when discussing history and Taiwan, our contacts
observed. During a meeting with Prime Minister Abe, Wen said
"History issues, if they are settled amicably, could result
in a good political foundation for the development of
bilateral relations; if handled poorly, they could become an
obstacle," MOFA's Endo related. Turning to Taiwan, Wen told
Abe that China will not accept an independent Taiwan but
dropped efforts to pressure Japan to alter language on Taiwan
in the joint press statement (Ref A).


11. (C) At a lunch in Kyoto, and during a dinner in Osaka
with business leaders and Kansai governors, Wen accentuated
the positive aspects of doing business in China. The local
business community reacted well to his upbeat remarks. One
Japanese attendee, when pressed for details on substance,
told an Osaka-Kobe Consulate-General political officer "The
important things are that Wen was here, and that my company's
CEO had dinner with the Chinese Premier."

Wen's "Common Touch"
--------------


12. (C) Wen went out of his way to demonstrate to both China
and Japan that the "ice has melted" in bilateral relations,
making that phrase a prominent sound bite in his speech
before the Japanese Diet. His Diet speech, which was
broadcast live in both Japan and China, received a standing
ovation, albeit the applause volume dropped during the speech
and some members appeared to doze off. China clearly wished
to present an image of Wen as a "regular guy." NHK featured
Wen mingling with locals during a morning jog through the
park the morning of his Diet speech. Later in Kyoto, when
greeted by flag-waving students at Ritsumeikan University,
Wen stopped his motorcade, broke away from his security
detail, and walked to the campus speech venue shaking hands
en route, MOFA Ambassador-at Large Shichiro Amae relayed to
Osaka-Kobe Consulate General officer.


13. (C) Wen demonstrated a willingness to go "off-script"
several times during his visit to Kyoto and Osaka. He also
seemed open to advice from his senior staff, and displayed a
willingness to change his mind, Ambassador Amae noted. On
the baseball field in Kyoto, he demonstrated personal
determination, spending ten-plus unscripted and
unselfconscious minutes running around and warming up before
practicing his pitch in front of TV cameras, Amae related.

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14. (C) The efficient, yet comfortable, teamwork displayed
by Wen's support staff was impressive, Amae remarked. Amae
singled out three people who appeared closest to Wen:
Commerce Minister Bo Xilai; Deputy Secretary-General of the
State Council Li Shishi (who Amae said functioned as Wen's
"second brain" and is fluent in English); and VFM Wu Dawei,
of whom Wen seemed particularly fond.

Comment: On Track
--------------


15. (C) Both Japan and China recognize the need to get
bilateral relations on a constructive track, following the
chilly Koizumi years. Wen's visit constitutes an important
next step in that direction. Recalling the anti-Japanese
riots in China two years ago, creating warm atmospherics of
the Wen visit was a major achievement in and of itself. That
said, the deliverables on economics, energy, and the
environment were long on show and short on substance. The
most worrisome issue -- the continued tensions over the gas
fields in the East China Sea -- was left unresolved. MOFA
officials and Diet members insist that Japan is committed to
further strengthening ties with China. They see Wen's visit
as a prelude to a visit by Abe to China following Japan's
Upper House election in July and a President Hu visit to
Japan early next year. History issues, however, will remain
a potential thorn in Abe's side.
SCHIEFFER