MEDIA REACTION: RIO TINTO, U.S.-CHINA TIRE TRADE, U.S.

UNCLAS BEIJING 002340 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: PREL ECON KMDR OPRC CH SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: RIO TINTO, U.S.-CHINA TIRE TRADE, U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. RIO TINTO "Enlightenment seen in shift from 'espionage' to 'crime' in Rio Tinto case" Guangdong 21st Century Publishing Company's business newspaper 21st Century Business Herald (21 Shiji Jingji Baodao)(08/13): "Chinese authorities have backed down from accusing four Rio Tinto executives of 'espionage,' emphasizing instead that the charges involve 'stealing commercial secrets.' China's decision to drop allegations of 'stealing state secrets' is a very wise shift. However, it did make sense for China to initially consider the price of iron ore as a state secret because the iron and steel industry is of national importance and most of China's steel giants are state owned. Nevertheless, negotiation over iron ore prices is a business activity, and therefore the allegation of 'espionage' does not apply." ¶2. U.S.-CHINA TIRE TRADE "Is the world able to sanction the U.S.?" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao) (08/13): "(In discussing the U.S.-China tire trade issue,) Zhang Shengjun, Vice Dean at Beijing Normal University's School of Political Science and International Studies, said the Obama Administration is neglecting its international responsibility by only serving American interests groups. The U.S. should be held accountable for mistakes it made that caused the financial crisis. In order to gain support from developing countries, the U.S. should apologize to them and take measures to demonstrate its sincerity. Another Chinese expert argued that the U.S. cannot be sanctioned because poor cannot easily sanction rich countries. Even if a few countries unite together to impose sanctions against the U.S., it will not have the same effect as the U.S.'s sanctions against other countries. Thus, the call to sanction America will eventually fade away. " ¶3. U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY "New U.S. counterterrorism strategy more flexible" The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao) (08/13): "Obama's top national security and counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, outlined the Obama Administration's counterterrorism strategy. This is a new approach that is more flexible than the 'global war on terror' since it recognizes and seeks to address the root causes of terrorism, such as poverty, corruption, and illiteracy, which provide a fertile ground for the growth of violent extremism. In the short term, as demonstrated by its actions in Pakistan and Afghanistan, military attack will remain the U.S.'s primary method of combating terrorism. This new approach is more practical but facing many challenges, one of them being the pressure right-wing groups in the U.S. will bring to bear on Obama to change this strategy if more and more soldiers die. The concept of promoting American democracy through counterterrorism is still embedded in the new strategy because 'smart power' can also include democratic transformation or color revolutions." GOLDBERG