MEDIA REACTION: NORTH KOREA, INDIA, CHINA'S SAVINGS RATE,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 001433

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: NORTH KOREA, INDIA, CHINA'S SAVINGS RATE,
CLEAN ENERGY

--------------
Editorial Quotes
--------------


1. NORTH KOREA

"It is an inferior policy to pressure with a nuclear test"

The official Xinhua News Agency international news publication
International Herald Leader (Guoji Xianqu Daobao)(05/28): "The
recent nuclear tests conducted by the DPRK may become a crucial step
in future DPRK issues. The test shows that the DPRK has upgraded
their 'warnings' into regular 'pressure tactics.' North Korea used
a test satellite launch, in the first half of this year, to urge the
U.S. to emphasize North Korea's issues and to begin conducting
dialogue. However, the strategy did not have any obvious effect.
North Korea's nuclear test has put further pressure on the U.S. and
other major countries. However, neither pressuring with developed
nuclear weapons, nor using distance missiles as a threat can really
solve the impasse on the Korean peninsula. There is no better
resolution than the Six Party Talks. The answer to the question:
can North Korea's repetitive nuclear tests promote dialogue, is
definite 'No'. North Korea's use of the nuclear test as a pressure
tactic is an inferior policy decision for any party. Regional
denuclearization doesn't focus on any specific country, but it will
create a positive development environment for all of the countries
in the region."


2. INDIA

"The U.S. and India borrow military equipment from each other to
contain China"

The official Xinhua News Agency international news publication
International Herald Leader (Guoji Xianqu Daobao)(05/28): "The U.S.
and India have worked out a logistics agreement. In the future they
will work together to gain combat efficiency. This will help India
combat China and Pakistan. The U.S. can further depend on the
agreement to help influnce the situation in the South Indian Ocean.
The agreement can make the U.S. military's activities in the South
Asia Sea and in the Indian Ocean more convenient. The U.S. and
India can further depend on this agreement to further develop their
military alliance. This 'military alliance-to-be' directly
threatens China and Pakistan. In recent years, India has stepped
away from traditional non-alliance policy making. This logistical
agreement with the U.S. is a turning point. The protection and
security of China's transportation lines in the Indian Ocean is
becoming more urgent."


3. CHINA'S SAVINGS RATE

"Savings: Pros weigh heavily against cons"

The official English-language newspaper China Daily (05/29): "The
government has decided to make domestic consumption the engine of
sustained growth. But many people tend to confuse it with personal
consumption. And industrial lobbies have been urging the government
to issue preferential policies for the property sector and the auto
industry to help boost consumption. ...The experience taught us that
a high rate of savings should be viewed as a virtue, not as a vice.
It's the inappropriate use of savings that is to blame for the
economic ills of today. ...
In the U.S., most people are addicted to credit cards and spending
money they have not earned. Ironically the economic crisis has
forced people to rely even more on credit cards to maintain their
lifestyle, which in the first place they should not have acquired.
...Credit cards are a very recent phenomenon on the mainland. The
danger is here, so we have to learn from other countries' experience
to avoid similar mistakes, or sooner rather than later we will be
facing the same crisis. ...We have to learn to make good use of our
high savings rate, instead of encouraging the middle class to buy
more houses and cars, and spend like there is no tomorrow. ...When
welfare schemes make people feel more secure, they would be more
willing to spend. The social and economic infrastructure will also
ensure sustained economic growth. Proper channeling of savings into
investment and social spending will enhance real private consumption
in the long run. Higher savings will then imply higher investment
and, in turn, higher GDP and a more robust growth. Without proper
savings, a high private consumption rate will lead to disaster, as
has been the case in many Western countries. If a high savings rate
is as bad as many Western economics would like us to believe, then
how come we have succeeded and they have failed to weather the
economic storm?"


4. CLEAN ENERGY

"Discussion concerning clean energy legislation in the United
States; developing countries will likely become the excuse of their

BEIJING 00001433 002 OF 002


opponents"

Guangdong 21st Century Publishing Company Ltd.'s business newspaper
21st Century Business Herald (21Shiji Jingji Baodao)(05/29): "On May
21st, the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives passed the Clean Energy and Security Act. The act
promises that in 2020 the U.S. will reduce its greenhouse gas
emission by 17% based on the amount of 2005. However, this
commitment is apparently far from what Central Europe expects. This
is the first time that the U.S. tried to promise its goals for
greenhouse gas emission reductions legislatively. Currently, except
the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Appropriations,
most of the committees are not likely to change the content of the
act. On May 26th, when Senator John Kerry, Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman, moderated the Sino-U.S. Clean Energy Forum, he
stated that the U.S. has begun to accept the concept of same but
differentiated responsibility. He thinks that different countries
have different capabilities, but China should bring forward a
mandatory goal of greenhouse gas emission reduction. Nevertheless,
Qing Tai, Chinese Foreign Ministry Special Representative on Climate
Change, stated that the challenges to climate change are the result
of the uncontrollable emissions emitted when developed countries
were progressing towards industrialization. The per capita amount of
developed countries emissions is still higher than developing
countries. We should tell these countries, explicitly, that we are
the victims. As the problem makers, the developed countries don't
have the right to ask us to accept the same responsibilities as they
have. On this issue, involving their own interests, developing
countries are not afraid of any pressure."

PICCUTA