UK FM MILIBAND IN CHINA: RESPONSIBLE SOVEREIGNTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 000766

SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2028
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM UK CH BM SU TW
SUBJECT: UK FM MILIBAND IN CHINA: RESPONSIBLE SOVEREIGNTY

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.
4 (b/d).

Summary
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1. (C) During his February 24-29 visit to China, British
Foreign Secretary David Miliband called for a greater PRC
role in nonproliferation, free trade, climate change, the
Darfur crisis and development issues. The UK and China
institutionalized an agenda for cooperation in a new
Commission tasked with discussing five topics:
nonproliferation, African development, UN effectiveness,
climate change and Sino-European cooperation. According to
the UK Embassy, Miliband made "very frank" private remarks on
the need to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions and the
inappropriateness of China's expanding economic relationship
with Iran. The visit included a speech at Beijing
Universityin which Miliband explained the importance of
"responsible sovereignty" and the threats and opportunities
China faced from globalization. End summary.

Long Visit
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2. (C) British Foreign Secretary David Miliband visited Hong
Kong, Shanghai, Chongqing and Beijing February 24-29 and met
Chinese President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, Foreign
Minister Yang Jiechi and Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai
Bingguo, British Embassy First Secretary Gareth Ward told
PolOff March 3. Ward said Miliband made a relatively long
first visit to China to have a better opportunity to discuss
issues in depth and to forge enduring personal relationships.

Five Themes
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3. (C) Ward said Miliband's visit capitalized on the good
personal relationship built with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi
during Yang's December 2007 visit to London. Building on
their discussions in London, Yang and Miliband commissioned
joint work on five broad topics of global concern to be
discussed over the next six months at both senior and working
levels: nonproliferation, African development issues, UN
effectiveness, climate change and Sino-European cooperation.

Iran: New Resolution Needed
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4. (C) Iran was the most important specific
proliferation-related issue that Miliband discussed, per the
UK PolOff. Ward said Miliband was "very frank" on the need
to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Miliband raised
strong objections to China's attempts to water down economic
sanctions, which "give the wrong political signal." Miliband
said that if the P5-plus-1 (or E3-plus-3) do not succeed in
thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions, "all the things China
does not want to occur will occur."
Other Nonproliferation Issues
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5. (C) Moving from Iran to general proliferation issues,
Miliband stressed the importance of the P5's pursuing a
cohesive approach to strengthening the global
nonproliferation regime, Ward told us. Miliband specifically
raised the need for a more effective system to verify that
disablement of facilities has really occurred. Miliband also
pushed the UK's nuclear enrichment bond initiative, a plan to
guarantee a supply of enriched nuclear fuel and thus
eliminate the need for most nations to produce such fuel.
Ward said the UK, China, Germany and the Netherlands will
discuss the plan in detail at a May conference. Miliband
also expressed a general desire to have China play a larger
role in shaping the international nonproliferation agenda.

Sudan: Full Deployment of UNAMID
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6. (C) Miliband and FM Yang discussed the need for full
deployment of UNAMID and for full humanitarian access to
Darfur. Miliband called for full implementation of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement and urged China to coordinate
closely with other governments to achieve this objective.
Miliband also raised Sudan with Premier Wen, who said that a
solution to the problems in Sudan requires the support of the
rebels and the government. Wen said China supports the goals
of peace and stability in Sudan and will seek to achieve them
"while doing normal business." The British Special Envoy for
Darfur will visit China later this year to follow up on
Miliband's discussions. Ward said the British seek to keep
China as publicly involved as possible to stymie Beijing's
ability to make backroom deals with the Khartoum regime.

African Development Assistance
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7. (C) Miliband's visit included a roundtable on African
development assistance. The roundtable discussions supported
greater Sino-UK cooperation and joint efforts on development.
Ward said including African participants in the roundtable
(the Ambassadors of Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa) was
crucial to the success of the discussions. Miliband urged
China to take a larger role in discussions of the Millennium
Development Goals.

Environment, Human Rights, Taiwan, Burma
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8. (C) Miliband stressed the need for more effective UN
stabilization and reconstruction work and advocated reshaping
the World Bank into "an environmental bank" and the IMF into
an "early warning system." Miliband said that climate change
concerns dictate that China pursue a "low carbon, high
growth" strategy. In this regard, Miliband said China must
be a "leapfrog economy," that avoids the path of previous
economies. Miliband raised the human rights cases of Hu Jia
and Gao Zhisheng and urged China to ratify the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Yang replied that
China is now working to create an "appropriate legal
framework" for ratification. Ward said Miliband made no new
statements on Taiwan, simply reiterating Britain's one China
policy and saying Britain "does not support" Taiwan's
referendum on UN membership. Ward said there was also
nothing new on Burma and the Chinese repeated "the usual
line" that China supports UN Special Advisor Gambari's
efforts.

Beijing University Speech
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9. (U) Miliband gave a policy speech at Beijing University on
the theme of "responsible sovereignty." The speech
highlighted the challenges, threats and opportunities of
globalization and called for increased openness and reduced
trade protectionism. Miliband urged China to do more for
"faltering states," which he defined as failing states too
weak to maintain rule of law as well as rogue states that
threaten their neighbors. Miliband stated publicly that the
world should "celebrate" not boycott the Olympics. However,
he urged China to take seriously international concerns,
noting that those who raise concerns over China's actions do
so "not to pick on China, or block its rise, but rather to
see its power used as a force for good."

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chongqing Visits
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10. (C) In meetings with Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald
Tsang and legislators, Miliband expressed disappointment that

SIPDIS
universal suffrage in Hong Kong will not be achieved by 2012,
but satisfaction that there is now a clear commitment from
Beijing to move to universal suffrage by 2017. Miliband met
business leaders in Shanghai, which Ward called the "least
substantial" portion of Miliband's trip. In Chongqing,
Miliband focused on development, reform and rural-urban
issues, including migration, and signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) on UK assistance on rural-urban migration
issues.
RANDT