DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE DIALOGUE PROPOSAL DELIVERED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000179 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR DFA HENRIETTA FORE STATE FOR S/P DAVID GORDON AND JAMES GREEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/18/2018 TAGS: EAID ECON ETRD PREL PGOV CH SUBJECT: DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE DIALOGUE PROPOSAL DELIVERED TO CHINA Classified By: (U) CLASSIFIED BY MINISTER COUNSELOR FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIR S ROBERT LUKE; REASON 1.4 (B) AND (D) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Policy Planning (S/P) Director David Gordon met with Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Deputy Director General for American and Oceanian Affairs Wang Hongbo on January 17 to deliver the Director of Foreign Assistance's (DFA) proposal for a Development Assistance Dialogue with China. Wang promised to share the proposal with officials in MOFCOM's Aid to Foreign Countries Department and other government agencies. Gordon emphasized that the Deputy Secretary on January 16 expressed to Premier Wen Jiabao U.S. interest in a Development Assistance Dialogue (septel) and would discuss the proposal with Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo. ACTION REQUEST: Wang requested a formal letter from DFA Fore to propose the scope of the dialogue and the dates so that she could pass the letter to her superiors. Please advise. END SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST. S/P DIRECTOR GORDON PROPOSES DEVELOPMENT DIALOGUE -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) S/P Director Gordon made clear that the United States is not opposed to Chinese development assistance or trade and investment in Asia, Africa and Latin America. China's engineers, for example, are world class and by building roads and other infrastructure can help alleviate poverty in many areas around the globe, he said. Gordon noted that trade between China and many parts of the developing world gives tens of millions of people access to many high-quality, low-cost goods to improve their livelihoods. As the world's third largest trading nation, China economic footprint around the globe is growing, Gordon said. ¶3. (C) Gordon stated that the United States and China share similar goals for poor nations and their citizens: to increase opportunities for economic development, improve access to education and healthcare, and bring stability and opportunity to all. Responsible nations need to coordinate foreign assistance polices and programs to ensure global stability and prevent potential harm. The United States has discussions with European, Australia, Japanese and other partners. The United States wishes to have a dialogue with developing countries such as China that are becoming increasingly important sources of development assistance. . (C) Gordon told Wang that the State Department would like to propose a U.S.-China development assistance dialogue to help better understand each side's goals and strategies. Over the last two years, the U.S. Government has undergone a major effort to reform the foreign assistance process, Gordon said, and there now is a Director of Foreign Assistance, who is at the Deputy Secretary rank, and also serves as the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Gordon stated that DFA Fore will be in Tokyo for the G-8 Development Minister Dialogue on April 5-6. The U.S. Government proposes that DFA Fore lead an interagency U.S. delegation to Beijing afterwards (on April 7-8) to start the U.S.-China Development Assistance Dialogue. PREMIER, MFA SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT DIALOGUE -------------- ¶5. (C) Gordon said Deputy Secretary Negroponte previously discussed a possible Development Dialogue with Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo in 2007 and would again discuss it as an agenda item during this round of the Senior Dialogue (septels). Gordon emphasized that Deputy Secretary Negroponte also raised the Development Assistance Dialogue with Premier Wen Jiabao on January 16 (septel) and Wen supports the idea. MOFCOM RECEPTIVE: WILL SHARE PROPOSAL WITH OTHERS -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) DDG Wang said the many high-level dialogues between the United States and China illustrate the importance of the bilateral relationship and underscore the growing scope of economic and trade relations. MOFCOM's Aid to Foreign Countries Department is the lead department in the ministry for development issues, but unfortunately, officials from that department were unavailable because of a national-level meeting that had been previously scheduled. Wang promised, however, to pass on the proposal to her colleagues in the Department of Aid to Foreign Countries as well as to other relevant agencies. (Note: While officials from MOFCOM's BEIJING 00000179 002 OF 002 Department of Aid to Foreign Countries were not available to meet with S/P Director Gordon on January 17, the department's officials facilitated the meeting between Gordon and DDG Wang.) ¶7. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Wang requested a formal letter from DFA Fore to propose the scope of the dialogue and the dates so that she could pass the letter to her superiors. She said the letter could be sent through the Embassy for transmission to MOFCOM. Please advise. ¶8. (C) S/P Director Gordon did not have an opportunity to clear this message. RANDT RANDT