MEDIA REACTION: WTO RULING, U.S. "RETURNS TO ASIA," CHINA'S

UNCLAS BEIJING 002361 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: WTO RULING, U.S. "RETURNS TO ASIA," CHINA'S LIQUIDITY WORRIES -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. WTO RULING "WTO ruling will spur improvement of China's audio-visual industry" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao) (08/14): "If the World Trade Organization ruling is effective, American audio-visual products, primarily Hollywood films, will have more avenues to penetrate the Chinese market at a lower cost. In recent years, American audio-visual products have spread around world and threatened the 'cultural industry' in many countries. This ruling has sounded an alarm in China's cultural industry. In the context of globalization, it seems that we have only one choice: to make ourselves better and stronger. In the end, China's influence in the world will be determined by the number of people who are watching Chinese movies, listening to Chinese music, and reading Chinese books." "WTO decision will cause a chain reaction" Guangdong 21st Century Publishing Company's business newspaper 21st Century Business Herald (21 Shiji Jingji Baodao) (08/14): "China may appeal a ruling by the World Trade Organization supporting a U.S. complaint against the country's regulations on imported books, films, and music. Zhang Jianxin, the Dean of the International Relations and Public Affairs Institute at Fudan University, said he is not optimistic that the appeal will succeed. China does not need to regard this ruling as a big threat. He argued that the WTO's decision will help China protect intellectual property rights by causing China to pass additional laws on IPR protection. The ruling will also inspire China's cultural industry to improve the quality of its products. From a long-term perspective, the benefits of this ruling will outweigh the drawbacks." ¶2. U.S. "RETURNS TO ASIA" "U.S. returns to Asia to contain China" The China Radio International sponsored newspaper World News Journal (Shijie Xinwenbao) (08/14): "The reasons the U.S. has returned to Asia are to prevent China from becoming the major power in the region, to put more pressure on Myanmar through deeper involvement in ASEAN affairs, and to prevent North Korea from developing allies in the region. The U.S.'s sudden interest in Southeast Asia is due to the fact that it believes there is an opportunity to take advantage of the differences between China and some ASEAN countries over the South China Sea issue. The U.S. thinks these ASEAN countries might want to leverage U.S. power in the region to counter-balance China. The U.S. wants to manipulate the struggle between China and ASEAN countries to weaken China and hinder its development." ¶3. CHINA'S LIQUIDITY WORRIES "The era of the U.S. injecting liquidity into China has come to an end" Guangdong 21st Century Publishing Company Ltd.'s business newspaper 21st Century Business Herald (21 Shiji Jingji Baodao) (08/14): "A Chinese expert said China's $2 trillion foreign exchange reserves are equal to the liquidity the U.S. has injected into China. This liquidity has developed private sector and export companies in China and increased the efficiency of the Chinese economy. However, China's concern over a possible liquidity crisis caused by improvements in the U.S. economy has triggered sharp fluctuations in the capital market. Signs of economic recovery in the U.S. have had a mixed impact on China. On the one hand, China's exports to the U.S. are expected to pick up as growth in U.S. imports resumes. On the other hand, the value of the U.S. dollar may rise, causing a flight in the capital that has propped up asset prices in emerging markets. The tightening and loosening in liquidity is like a 'double-edged sword,' which puzzles both China and the U.S., the world's two most important economies across the Pacific." GOLDBERG