Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BEIJING1446
2009-06-02 05:17:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

SPEAKER PELOSI'S MAY 27 MEETING WITH NPC CHAIRMAN

Tags:  PREL OREP MARR MOPS PARM MNUC PBTS PTER PGOV 
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FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4219
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 1249
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2617
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 BEIJING 001446 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2034
TAGS: PREL OREP MARR MOPS PARM MNUC PBTS PTER PGOV
CH, KN, PHUM, SENV, ECON, ENRG, KNNP, KIPR
SUBJECT: SPEAKER PELOSI'S MAY 27 MEETING WITH NPC CHAIRMAN
WU BANGGUO

REF: A. BEIJING 1431

B. BEIJING 1428

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Dan Piccuta. Reasons 1.4 (B/D)
.

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 BEIJING 001446

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2034
TAGS: PREL OREP MARR MOPS PARM MNUC PBTS PTER PGOV
CH, KN, PHUM, SENV, ECON, ENRG, KNNP, KIPR
SUBJECT: SPEAKER PELOSI'S MAY 27 MEETING WITH NPC CHAIRMAN
WU BANGGUO

REF: A. BEIJING 1431

B. BEIJING 1428

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Dan Piccuta. Reasons 1.4 (B/D)
.

Summary
--------------


1. (C) In a wide-ranging discussion with CODEL Pelosi on May
27, National People's Congress (NPC) Chairman Wu Bangguo
applauded the state of bilateral relations, encouraged
greater exchanges between the Congress and the NPC, urged
greater U.S.-China collaboration on energy and climate change
and joint efforts to make the upcoming Copenhagen meeting a
success, and outlined China's strategies to cope with the
Global Financial Crisis. Speaker Pelosi applauded China's
efforts and expressed hope for closer cooperation on climate
change and progress in relations between the Congress and
NPC. She urged China to become more transparent and to rely
on the rule of law and environmental justice in its climate
change efforts. The Speaker also emphasized that there was
Presidential and Congressional interest in Human Rights "on
both sides of the aisle." Wu also said China had sent a
"strong message" to the DPRK but urged patience and joint
efforts to prevent the situation in North Korea from
"spinning out of control." End Summary.

Boost to Bilateral Relations
--------------


2. (SBU) Wu opened with a very upbeat assessment of
U.S.-China relations and Speaker Pelosi's visit, noting the

great success over the past 30 years in jointly addressing
global challenges and calling the relationship "one of the
most important and vibrant in the world." He said that the
Speaker's visit would not only boost bilateral ties, but
would facilitate a deepening of relations between the
Congress and the NPC. Wu also applauded the "smooth
handover" of China policy to a new U.S. administration,
including the "successful" meeting between President Obama
and President Hu Jintao at the G-20 Summit in London. The
two countries are "off to a good start," he said, but must
continue to accommodate each other's core interests. The
most important and sensitive issue in the relationship from
China's perspective is the Taiwan issue. Despite important
differences in perspective, Wu said, common interests still
far outweigh these differences and the two sides should put
them aside and focus on common ground. The NPC would work
with the House of Representatives to implement bilateral
agreements and facilitate cooperation.


3. (SBU) The Speaker thanked Wu for China's hospitality and
uncommonly strong support for her visit, including the
"unsurpassed" access to top leaders, and for the information
and intellectual resources provided. She expressed regret
that Wu had been unable to visit the United States as planned
and invited him to come at an appropriate time.

Strengthening Congress and NPC Exchanges
--------------


4. (SBU) Wu accepted the Speaker's invitation to visit the
United States, saying this would be the first visit by the
NPC Chairman in 20 years and that the solid basis of
bilateral relations provides a strong foundation for closer
cooperation between the Congress and the NPC. He noted that
the United States currently ranked number one in the volume
of the NPC's inter-parliamentary exchanges and said
Congressional interest in strengthening ties is growing. Wu
stressed the need to maintain the momentum in expanding the
volume and range of exchanges, to consolidate and improve the
"exchange mechanism," and to step up exchanges between
specialized committees in both legislatures.


5. (SBU) Addressing the issue of exchange mechanisms, Wu
urged making exchanges more regular and creating an effective
channel for communication. He said that NPC Foreign Affairs
director and former Ambassador to the United States, Li
Zhaoxing, would head up this effort on the Chinese side and

BEIJING 00001446 002 OF 005


that a Chinese delegation has already accepted a
Congressional invitation for a visit in June. He said China
will join the United States in improving the mechanism, which
will broaden participation and enrich the substance and
improve the format of exchanges. With respect to stepping up
exchanges between specialized committees, he said stronger
ties between committees and their staffs will lead to
pragmatic cooperation. China was especially interested in
committees that deal with environmental protection,
education, science, culture, health, and finance, he said.
The two legislative bodies should keep in touch on
international issues and share experiences on legislation.


6. (SBU) Responding to Wu's proposals on strengthening the
inter-parliamentary relationship, the Speaker agreed there
had been an uptic in Congressional interest in China,
especially on stronger Congress-NPC interaction, and that
specialized Congressional committees also had great interest
in China.

Collaboration on Climate Change and Energy
--------------


7. (SBU) Wu said he wished to address the Speaker's major
concerns on climate change and energy, especially her desire
for greater cooperation and for interaction with Chinese
specialists during the visit. He said China was serious
about climate change, that it is a global problem, and that
China accepts its new international obligation. Moreover,
cooperation with the United States is essential in order to
tackle it and China wants Copenhagen to be a success. At the
same time, he said, China must continue its economic
development and believes that differentiating
responsibilities among countries is the key to success. The
developed countries are mostly responsible for the increase
in greenhouse gas emissions and should provide more
technological and financial support to developing countries.


8. (SBU) Wu proceeded to outline in great detail, China's
current efforts to develop new and more efficient energy
sources, stating that climate change plans are already in
place, including in the 11th Five Year Plan, with specific
targets. He said China had set a number of targets which
will be pursued "through the market economy" and whose
implementation progress the NPC was obligated to report to
Premier Wen annually. Wen himself was in charge of the Small
Leading Group responsible for tracking these efforts and the
National Development and Reform Commission was the
organization taking the lead. These efforts included
significant annual increases in wind and solar power
generating capacity, household biogas use, construction of
new power generators, and large energy savings through
increased use of ethanol and hybrid engines in a variety of
vehicles. He said that by 2020, China would be using third
generation U.S. power-generating technology. In many
industrial and commercial applications, Wu claimed, the level
of China's technology approached that of the United States
and South Korea at half the cost. He also mentioned advances
in clean coal technology -- which already included strong
cooperation with the United States -- and energy-saving
building architecture.


9. (SBU) All of these statistics, he said, showed that China
was serious about climate change and was meeting its own
needs. China wants cooperation with the United States in all
these areas and such cooperation, he stressed, had become an
important new element in the bilateral relationship. There
was a need for greater cooperation on both policy and
legislation. Wu specifically mentioned joint projects in
energy- saving building construction and science and
technology research.


10. (SBU) Responding to Wu's remarks on climate change, the
Speaker noted that there was no disagreement on the need for
differentiation between developed and developing countries
but said the form that differentiation should take is an
issue. "We need to move forward," she emphasized. She
agreed on the need to share technology and resources with
developing countries, including on climate change, but said
the form this sharing would take also remains an issue. She

BEIJING 00001446 003 OF 005


also applauded Wu's "holistic" approach to development,
stating that energy policy affects everyone and that this is
what the United States means by "environmental justice." She
said that transparency, rule of law, and accountible
government were essential in all efforts to improve air and
water quality and apply environmental principles. "We all
need to step up to this responsibility," she said, and
"answer to the people." The Speaker welcomed Wu's proposal
for joint ecological demonstration projects and S & T
projects.

Global Financial Crisis
--------------


11. (SBU) Wu couched his comments on climate change within a
broader discussion of China's economic development strategies
and the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) to illustrate the need
for new energy and other green technologies. He noted the
GFC "has yet to bottom out" and that the challenge facing the
international community is to followup on the agreements of
London G-20 Summit. Wu said the GFC revealed the "inequities"
in the global financial system and the major tasks were to
halt the downturn and facilitate recovery, reject
protectionism, promote greater consultation, and give
developing countries a greater voice. Wu stated that
U.S.-China cooperation at the Summit, including the meeting
between Presidents Obama and Hu, was an essential element in
the Summit's success.


12. (SBU) Wu reiterated China's line that a major objective
of the stimulus package was to lessen dependence on exports
and boost domestic demand as drivers of economic development.
He claimed that despite the sharp drop in GDP growth early
this year, the economy has since begun to rebound and the
leadership was confident of reaching its eight percent growth
target for the year. He also claimed that the banking system
was healthy (no problems with capital, liquidity, and
non-performing loans) and could support recovery.


13. (SBU) He asserted that China's continued rapid
industrialization and urbanization had created a "huge
demand" for investment and further development. He said that
China continued to readjust its industrial structure,
focusing on ten major industries, making the expansion of
inter-city rapid rail a priority. Finally, he asserted that
China was in the midst of the "greatest urbanization in world
history" with an annual rural-to-urban redistribution of ten
million people per year. This, he said, offered great
opportunities for investment and for spurring domestic
consumption. Summarizing his lengthy presentation, Wu said
China was attempting to focus on the immediate difficulties
while at the same time continuing to plan for long term
sustainable development. Energy, he emphasized, was a major
component of this planning and was a promising area of
U.S.-China cooperation, especially given U.S. S & T advances
and given that a low carbon economy was a priority for both
countries. Wu said he had underscored "these new high
lights" in the bilateral relationship that he thought would
be of interest to the Speaker.

CODEL Response
--------------


14. (SBU) The Speaker thanked Wu for his "dazzling"
presentation and assured him that "an informed U.S. audience"
understood his points. She explained the U.S. stimulus
package, noting that its "core value" was a commitment to
disciplined implementation. She said the Congress would like
to work with the NPC on ideas to improve the global financial
system, soliciting, in particular, Chinese views on whether
the post-WWII development banks were still an appropriate
means to tackle global development issues. This would be an
excellent subject for a joint effort, she said. The Speaker
invited members of her CODEL to Congressmen Markey,
Sensenbrenner, Blumenauer, and Inslee to comment from their
respective perspectives on Chairman Wu's comprehensive
overview.


15. (SBU) Congressman Markey discussed recent U.S. landmark
legislation setting targets for reducing green house gas

BEIJING 00001446 004 OF 005


emissions, including the "historic" climate change and energy
bill that he co-sponsored that passed last week. He said the
legislation, along with commitments made by President Obama,
constituted a "signal to the world" that there would be a
"radical change" in the way the United States relates to
energy and climate change. He said the goal of these moves
was to participate in the Copenhagen conference "with the
United States as the leader not as a laggard." The
Congressman challenged China to surpass the United States by
adopting standards and measurements appropriate for China,
and to "stretch" its thinking and capable workforce, to reach
measureable, reliable, transparent, emissions policies.


16. (SBU) Congressman Sensenbrenner stressed the need for IPR
enforcement to provide incentives for technological
innovation, noting that China had adequate IPR legislation
but needs better enforcement. He agreed on the need for
differentiation, but said this must be mandatory and
verifiable, and hoped China would give this serious
consideration.


17. (SBU) Congressman Blumenauer urged China to carefully
consider how its urbanization would be carried out, with a
view to finding new patterns of development, land-use,
transportation, water and energy conservation, sustainable
agricultural practices, and strategic application of
technology. He said that the United States and China can
work together in search of less expensive, more effective,
patterns of urbanization with less adverse environmental
impact.

l8. (SBU) Congressman Inslee urged China to realize it would
be "playing in a different league" when it goes to
Copenhagen. While it should be differentiated from the
United States, whose pollution rate is six times that of
China, China should no longer be in the same category as
Uganda or Kenya. The United States and China should jointly
explore what this difference should be in order to determine
where China fits in the proper balance. However, China
should make a specific commitment on emissions targets. Such
a commitment will make it much easier for the United States
to help.

IPR Enforcement Issue: China Gets It
--------------


19. (SBU) In responses to Congressman Sensenbrenner's praise
for China's IPR laws and but request for better
implementation from the Chinese side, Wu asserted that China
was taking strong measures to implement its laws, and said
that as an engineer by training, he personally understood the
importance of IPR. He said that a country with no innovative
capacity has no future and IPR provided an important
incentive for innovation.

Mindful of Human Rights
--------------


20. (SBU) The Speaker told Wu that there was both
Presidential and Congressional interest in Human Rights "on
both sides if the aisle" and called on Congressmen
Sensenbrenner to confirm this bipartisan support. The
Congressman stated that there was "no difference" between
Republicans and Democrats on this issue. Wu did not respond.

Strong Message to North Korea
--------------


21. (C) Speaker Pelosi stressed the need to work together to
craft a strong United Nations statement on North Korea's
nuclear weapons test and, noting China's "wisdom and
experience" in dealing with the North, and said China's
leadership was the key to bringing North Korea back to the
Six-Party Talks. She stressed that Japan, South Korea, Iran,
and other states that may entertain ambitions to develop
nuclear weapons are "looking on" and it is in the interest of
both the United States and China to demonstrate resolve on
the issue. She said the key question was how the North would
use its nuclear material and whether it would engage in
dangerous proliferation.

BEIJING 00001446 005 OF 005




22. (C) Wu responded in some detail, stating that China had
made "serious representations" to North Korea "in both
Pyongyang and Beijing" and reiterating the points in China's
Foreign Ministry Statement issued soon after the test --
namely that China "strongly opposes" the test, calls on the
North to stop actions that will make the situation worse, and
supports a denuclearized Korean peninsula and a peaceful and
stable East Asia. Noting that Codel had previously heard
from President Hu and Premier Wen on the North Korea issue,
Wu stated that China's position was "consistent." Wu said
the situation was complex and twice emphasized the need to
"keep the situation from getting out of control" through
close cooperation between the two sides' foreign ministers
and working jointly in the UNSC.

PICCUTA