MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS, U.S. ELECTION, IRAQ

UNCLAS BEIJING 004550 DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/CM, EAP/PA, EAP/PD, C HQ PACOM FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR (J007) SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR CH SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS, U.S. ELECTION, IRAQ -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS "The trap in the 'U.S.-China marriage'" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(12/16): "American scholars have brought up two new concepts, the 'G2', the U.S.-China two-country group and 'Chimerica.' These concepts are like 'U.S.-China marriage theory' which shows that China could have an equal position with the U.S. However, this concept actually speaks about how to include China, an alien to the international economy, in the system. It is not talking about the global economic model. This concept is in fact another version of the 'China threat theory' and an alternative way to deal with China's threat. There has already been strategic dialogue between the U.S. and China to promote U.S.-China economic cooperation, why then, are the G2 and Chimerica concepts needed? In the G2, the two sides would reflect the power in the World, represented by the U.S. and China. Thus no matter the G2 or the Chimerica, both are systems subtly designed for the benefit of the U.S. With China's strength at present, it will be incapable of making any influence in an arrangement like the G2. What's more, the world's trend is going towards multilateralism, not polarization. The appearance of this type of concept reflects the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and the fact that the international society needs to begin to consider China. There is still a long road ahead in order for China to gain an equal position to the U.S." ¶2. U.S. ELECTION "U.S. election follows the customs of old" The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao) (12/16): "The U.S. presidential election did not end on November 4th. There was a voting of Elector groups that voted on December 15th. Although this is a meaningless vote, according to the American constitution, all Elector groups must be processed for the election to be effective. The process reveals the flaws of American style democracy. First, in 2000, although Gore had gained the majority of the votes in the national vote, and Bush had won in the Elector votes, Bush won overall. The Elector groups' votes would make regular votes valueless; second, this system causes the votes of voters in different states to appear unequal in value, because some medium and small sized states would influence the final result more than others. Thirdly, the U.S. states are divided into Red and Blue categories. In the State of Alabama, Obama won 40% of the votes, but he can't actually own the state because McCain won the majority of the votes in the State. People should be clued in to the flaws of the U.S.'s voting politics." ¶3. Iraq "While in Iraq, Bush is attacked by a man throwing shoes" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(12/16): "Throwing shoes at a person is the most insulting thing one can do in the Middle Eastern country of Iraq. Bush has made great efforts to down play the influence of the event. He has expressed that he was not insulted by the incident. Bush had planned to add merit to his political achievements by visiting Iraq before his administration ends. However, this issue with the shoes and the following protests asking for the thrower's release from prison has shown how different the two sides feel about the war. Iraqis took to the streets and cheered the thrower as a 'national hero.'" PICCUTA