MEDIA REACTION: WTO, U.S. POLICY, NORTH KOREA, FEDERAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 001753 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: WTO, U.S. POLICY, NORTH KOREA, FEDERAL RESERVE -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. WTO "Don't use free trade to force China" English-language daily published by Global Times/Huanqiu Shibao, the international edition of the People's Daily (06/25): "Restricting the export of strategic resources is China's indivisible right. Free trade excuses cannot violate the basic rights of the country and the people. The behavior of the U.S. and EU has stepped on the toes of the international governmental rules. This has invaded the basic rights of our sovereign country. The bad example by the U.S. and Europe will also hide the risk of chain reactions. Their behaviors are also contradictory to their own measures. The U.S. and Europe have the most strict export controls in the world. Their trade policies have swayed backward and forward based on the influence by interests groups, lacking consistency. China doesn't need to take their comments and behaviors too seriously. This is not beneficial for the stable development of U.S. and European economic trade. It is unhelpful when building their authority. The U.S. and Europe won't damage the mutually beneficial economic and trade relations with China. China won't need to seriously worry." ¶2. U.S. POLICY "The U.S. formally establishes cyber war command office" English-language daily published by Global Times/Huanqiu Shibao, the international edition of the People's Daily (06/25): "The U.S. announced that it established a cyber war office as of June 23rd. Thus the U.S. has become the first country in the world to introduce the Internet to a War Department. The U.S. military is very responsible and experienced when controlling public opinions. China should cautiously consider whether it should also establish a cyber command office. The U.S. cyber war command office is likely a trap. They are trying to beat their opponents in a cyber-arms race. China's threat has become an excuse for the U.S. to start a cyber arms race. China has the most netizens in the world and is also the country most frequently attacked by hackers. If the U.S. starts a cyber war command office, China also has reasons to do so." ¶3. NORTH KOREA "The West fabricates the theory that China is responsible for the North Korean nuclear issue" The official Xinhua News Agency international news publication International Herald Leader (Guoji Xianqu Daobao)(06/25): "Recently, the West has had doubts about China's resolve to help bring about a relevant solution to the North Korean issue. It is irresponsible to blame China alone. Various factors have caused the situation in North Korea to worsen. Chinese experts indicate that China has always been making great coordination efforts, but received a lot of unfair criticism. China, as the go-between, has done a lot of uneasy jobs. The U.S. must also take certain responsibilities. Since Obama took office, the official in charge of Eastern Asia affairs has yet to be in place. The U.S. promises North Korea 'a blank check.' China has made large efforts to solve this issue. However, certain countries have not been helpful. All countries, especially the U.S., should be sincere when resolving the North Korean issue. All countries should jointly bear the responsibilities." ¶4. FEDERAL RESERVE "The Federal Reserve meeting is coming up; disagreements concerning the future of the USD are historically rare" The Shanghai-based Shanghai Media Group (SMG) publication, China Business News (Diyi Caijing)(06/25): "The Federal Reserve meeting about currency policy has finally come, but certain international agencies' judgments on the future of the USD are extremely different. Before the prospects of global economic recovery begin brightening, no matter the result of the Federal Reserve meeting, disagreements will continue to exist. Some people are optimistic about the USD. They believe that the U.S. economy will be the first to recover and therefore they support the special status of the USD. Concerning this optimism, a Chinese analyst said the U.S. balance of payments is improving. Since last September, the trade deficit has been decreasing. Short-term decline of gold and oil prices will likely bring new motivation to boost the increase of the USD. Currently, the situation is unclear, but if the U.S. economy recovers before other western developed countries, it will benefit the USD. On the contrary, the people who are pessimistic about the USD hold that the Federal Reserve will continue keeping a low BEIJING 00001753 002 OF 002 interest rate. Concerning this pessimism, the analyst said the recent rebound of the USD is not because of the prospects that the Federal Reserve will increase the interest rate, but because the economic statistics of the other areas is not good. Due to the rising unemployment rate, the stagnant increase of the GDP based on inflation statistics, increasing the interest rate is not an option." PICCUTA