BEIJING-BASED G-5 CHIEFS OF MISSION ON EARTHQUAKE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 002010

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2028
TAGS: PREL EAID PHUM PGOV MARR KOLY SOCI SENV CH
FR, GM, JA, UK, AF
SUBJECT: BEIJING-BASED G-5 CHIEFS OF MISSION ON EARTHQUAKE
RECOVERY, SINO-JAPAN RELATIONS, DALAI LAMA, OTHER ISSUES


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

Summary
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1. (C) At the regular meeting of G-5 ambassadors in Beijing,
the Japanese Ambassador reported that PRC President Hu Jintao
has taken personal ownership of Sino-Japanese relations and
made the final decision to travel to Japan over the
opposition by some in the Chinese Government. Ambassador
Miyamoto said that the joint statement issued after the visit
shows that China may be interested in moving beyond history
issues. The Japanese interpret early PRC acceptance of a
Japanese earthquake rescue team as another sign of warming
relations. The French Ambassador expressed the view that
President Hu, to avoid looking weak on the Tibet issue, is
linking PRC willingness to talk to the Dalai Lama to similar
policies of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. End Summary.

Participants
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2. (C) The Ambassador hosted Japanese Ambassador Yuji
Miyamoto, UK Ambassador William Ehrman and French Ambassador
Herve Ladsous May 23 for the regular G-5 gathering of
Beijing-based Chiefs of Mission. The German Ambassador was
unable to attend.

Earthquake Relief Assistance
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3. (C) Ambassador Miyamoto reported that shortly after the
May 12 Wenchuan earthquake, the Japanese Government presented
China with a list of resources it could provide to assist in
the relief effort. The Chinese, he said, immediately agreed
to accept the material items on the list, but initially
declined the offer of a Japanese rescue team. Miyamoto
claimed that Chinese civil relief authorities accepted the
Japanese offer of assistance only after Chinese MFA prodding,
an act that Miyamoto called a "polite gesture" in line with
the positive trend in relations highlighted by President Hu's
recent trip to Japan. He noted that the rescue team's
efforts had received a great deal of positive press attention
in China. The Chinese also accepted a Japanese medical team,
but the team has seen few patients at the Chengdu hospital to
which it was assigned.


4. (C) French Ambassador Ladsous said that the chairman of
the French chain store Carrefour, which came under public
criticism following the troubled torch reay in Paris, made a
significnt donation to the relief effort. He added that the
French Government had offered China a "complete field
hospital," including medicines and doctors, but China
rejected the offer. Ambassador Ladsous ventured that the
Chinese are interested in material offers that can be
integrated into their own efforts but not in self-contained
operations that might be outside their control.

Hu Driving Positive Trend in Japan Relations
--------------


5. (C) Ambassador Miyamoto reported that during the planning
for President Hu's recent trip to Japan, the Chinese
Government was unsure if the visit should go forward and was
in fact considering cancelling the trip due to negative
Japanese sentiments over the Chinese-made dumplings food
safety scandal and Tibet. He stressed that President Hu
himself made the decision to go. He said that Hu exceeded
Japanese expectations for the trip and that China had been
very cooperative in preparing for the visit. For example,
while the two sides did not reach agreement on the substance
of the Japanese proposal on climate change, the Chinese took
a positive attitude on the thrust of the proposal.


6. (C) Ambassador Miyamoto said that Hu's "gift" of pandas to
Japan generated a great deal of goodwill among the Japanese
people, especially since a beloved panda at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo
passed away the week before. Another positive note was that
the Chinese did not raise history issues during the visit, a
first in recent Sino-Japan relations.

Moving Past the History Issues?

BEIJING 00002010 002.2 OF 002


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7. (C) Ambassador Miyamoto stressed that the joint statement
issued after the visit contained a passage that for the first
time put the focus on the post-WWII era as opposed to
war-time Japan, an inclusion that the Japanese interpret as a
move by the Chinese to put "the history issue" behind them.
Miyamoto said that previously the Chinese were unsure whether
Japan would remilitarize, but now they are positively
evaluating Japan's peaceful post-war contribution to the
international community. He added that this would represent
a reversal of decades of Chinese reservations about Japanese
power. Miyamoto claimed that Hu was criticized by hawks in
China for being soft on the Taiwan issue and for failing to
stress the history issue with the Japanese. After Hu's
visit, Chinese state-run media made the case that Hu's
overture with the Japanese represents a continuation of the
approach of former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. Miyamoto
opined that Hu recently took personal ownership of the
China-Japan relationship. He stressed, however, that despite
the recent overtures, the political winds could change at any
time.

Dalai Lama
--------------


8. (C) UK Ambassador Ehrman reported that he met with Foreign
Minister Yang Jiechi May 19 to express condolences for the
victims of the Wenchuan earthquake, and that in a pull-aside
after the meeting he was warned about the planned May 23
meeting between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Dalai
Lama in London. French Ambassador Ladsous noted that when
the Dalai Lama was made an honorary citizen of the city of
Paris, he was summoned by the MFA at 2 a.m. on a Saturday to
receive Chinese representations on the issue. He noted that
a recent article in the Chinese journal "Seeking Truth" (Qiu
Shi) underscored Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping's willingness
to meet with the Dalai Lama, presumably to provide context
for the Government's newly restarted dialogue with the Dalai
Lama. The French view this argument as an effort by
President Hu to show that he is not capitulating to the Dalai
Lama but rather is continuing previous policies.

Tibetan Youth Congress Members in Beijing?
--------------


9. (C) Ambassador Ladsous said that French security officials
were told during consultations with their Chinese
counterparts that 41 non-PRC-citizen members of the Tibet
Youth Congress, which China considers a terrorist
organization, are currently in Beijing. Eleven have been
arrested, but China remains concerned about the 30 that
remain at large, Ladsous said.

Afghanistan Paris Conference
--------------


10. (C) Ambassador Ladsous reported that he and the
Afghanistan Ambassador Eklil Ahmad Hakimi jointly met with
AFM Liu Jieyi to encourage Chinese participation in the June
12 Paris donor support conference for Afghanistan. AFM Liu
responded that Foreign Minister Yang is likely to attend the
conference and that FM Yang would probably meet bilaterally
with FM Kouchner.

Anti-Tibetan Moves, Sarkozy Olympic Attendance, French-PRC
Mil-Mil Relations
--------------


11. (C) UK Ambassador Ehrman reported that all Beijing hotels
have been instructed by local officials to refuse to lodge
Tibetans. He noted separately that the UK is disappointed
with China for being unwilling to put pressure on the regime
in Burma. French Ambassador Ladsous said that President
Sarkozy had not yet made a decision to attend the Olympics,
but did visit the Chinese Embassy in Paris to express
condolences over the Wenchuan earthquake. Ladsous also noted
that he spoke recently with French pilots in China on a
mil-mil exchange who had been permitted to fly Chinese JF-7s.
PICCUTA