MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS

UNCLAS BEIJING 001010 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 PREL ECON SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS a. "U.S. media acknowledged that there is insufficient evidence for the "Chinese hacker" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(04/16): "Tang Lan from the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations tells the Global Times that the U.S. has the most advanced internet technologies and creates the rules of the global internet network. Thus it obtains the right to speak in this field. She says that the U.S. always likes to attack China, by saying that Chinese internet hackers have attacked the American internet network. In fact, China has also been attacked by hackers. 'China is also the victim of internet hacker attacks, ranking as the second in the world following the U.S. However, currently China does not have the technology to monitor the safety of its internet and is always in a passive position to cope with internet attacks. China cannot provide sufficient evidence on its suffering from hacker attacks,' says Tang Lan." b. "The Pentagon's financial World War game" The official Xinhua News Agency international news publication International Herald Leader (Guoji Xianqu Daobao) (04/16): "This simulation reflects America's strategies. It has a military nature. The U.S. Defense Department has acknowledged that the financial crisis will reshape the world. As the 'familiar faces' who have always somehow been treated as strategic competitors in the eyes of the U.S. Defense Department, Russia and China are assumed to be involved in this simulated economic war. Japan and America's European allies are not on the list, although their economic powers are quite outstanding. This indicates that the 'economic war' simulation has not considered the basic facts of the global economic status quo. Instead, it deals with more political and military concerns. America's conclusion on why the U.S. will fail in this simulated "economic war" is interesting. It is likely that the U.S. will focus China as its target and reduce threats toward Russia. In this war game, the U.S. believes that the Treasury bonds that China owns have strategic importance. The U.S. worries that China will sell its Treasury bonds and, thus, has simulated a situation in which China might do so. Whether or not China intends to do so, this is not good news for China. Although it appears that China is the winner at the end of the game, China should not feel too proud. China should be warned by the important message being sent by the U.S. Defense Department, that they do not think economic ties are just pure reciprocal actions. It reflects the Pentagon's sober thinking and hyper-realistic attitude toward national security. China should not continue to believe that 'economy is economy and security is security.' This is a kind of simple thinking which only concerns cost and profits and is based on the interests of economic benefits. If we allow this way of thinking to take the lead in the process of developing our economic policies while ignoring the relevant interests of our national safety and security, we won't fulfill our goal of ensuring national security." Weinstein