MEDIA REACTION: H1-N1, OBAMA'S 100 DAY, U.S.-CHINA

UNCLAS BEIJING 001147 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: H1-N1, OBAMA'S 100 DAY, U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. H1-N1 "H1-N1 approaches East Asia" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(04/29): "The WHO has upgraded the emergency status of the H1-N1 virus to level 4, this adjustment has created tension in many countries. The U.S. has published its plan to deal with the possibility that 2 million people could die from H1-N1. South Korea - whose people frequently visit China - confirmed a suspect case in their country yesterday. China has begun emergency planning for the possibility that the country could become infected with the virus. A lot of people travel within the country of China. Because of this, there is a great possibility that China may be infected by H1-N1. China's experience with SARS prevention will help stop H1-N1 from spreading. The virus may become weaker after the infection. In the U.S., there no deaths have been reported yet. It shows the virus has lightened. Thus it may not be as serious as in Mexico even if it spreads to China." ¶2. OBAMA'S FIRST 100 DAYS "A comment on Obama's 100 days of diplomacy" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(04/29): "For the past 100 days, the Obama administration practiced smart-power diplomacy. The U.S. has changed its stance on many issues. It started to listen to its allies' opinions, adopt a mild policy in dealing with China and Russia, and the Islamic countries as well, and especially tried to offer an olive branch to Iran, Syria and Cuba. The U.S. is focused on rebuilding its soft power and overseas image. The U.S. aims at exchanging other countries' financial support and military support by giving respect to them. The problem is whether or not it can work. On the recent NATO summit and EU summit, America's goal of getting NATO and the EU to take on more responsibilities has failed. Domestic conservatives in the U.S. have criticized Obama's policy for gaining insufficient returns. Without a payoff, criticism will increase. It is still early to talk about the impact of the U.S. diplomatic changes." ¶3. U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS "U.S. scholars discuss dealing with China in South East Asian policy" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(04/29): "Recently China provided 10 billion U.S. dollars in infrastructure funds and 1.5 billion worth of credit to ASEAN countries. This move has aroused the U.S. concern. American scholars indicate that China's increasing influence in South East Asia will negatively influence America's strategic influence in the region. Chinese experts also believe that because of China's economic growth, China's exchanges with South East Asian countries have become frequent and will further increase in the future. The U.S. always compares the influence of the U.S. and China in the region, afraid that U.S. strength is weakening. However, such doubts will not influence normal U.S.-China communications. Such voices will not be the mainstream opinion of the United States either. China should promote its policy and ask the U.S. to accept a more powerful China." PICCUTA