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

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Editorial Quotes
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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