PRC OFFERS CAUTIOUS, YET POSITIVE REACTION TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 002788 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM AND EAP/MLS - LAURA SCHEIBE E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2029 TAGS: PREL PGOV BM CH SUBJECT: PRC OFFERS CAUTIOUS, YET POSITIVE REACTION TO CONCLUSIONS OF BURMA POLICY REVIEW REF: STATE 100518 Classified By: POL External Unit Chief Eric Barboriak. Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) China believes the U.S. decision to have direct communication with Burmese authorities is positive and would like to maintain contact with the United States on the Burma issue, according to an MFA official. In response to reftel points previewing the conclusions of the Burma policy review, MFA Asian Affairs Department Burma Division Deputy Director Chen Chen provided PolOff September 28 with an "informal" five-point response to the conclusions of the Burma policy review: 1) China appreciated the U.S. decision to have direct communication with Burmese authorities; 2) China believed direct contact between U.S. and Burmese authorities would be positive; 3) China believed the U.S should not maintain sanctions on Burma, but rather should guide Burma toward a democratic course; 4) China hoped the international community would provide a relaxed ("kuansong") atmosphere for Burma's 2010 elections; and 5) China wanted to continue to maintain contact with the United States on the Burma issue. ¶2. (C) Chen offered that the conclusions of the Burma policy review were positive and could lead to step-by-step progress inside Burma. Chen also addressed Burma's efforts on non-proliferation and its full compliance with UNSCR 1874 by noting that Burma's geographic proximity caused China to pay close attention to allegations of proliferation that involved Burma. Chen expressed his appreciation of the U.S. decision to preview the conclusions of its Burma policy review with China before its public announcement in Washington. Recent Kokang-related Media Reports False -------------- ¶3. (C) Chen rejected as false a September 25 media report indicating that Burma had ordered at least 10,000 Chinese citizens to depart Burma's Kokang region and also denied a separate September 25 media report indicating that China was building refugee camps around the Salween River that could accommodate around 15,000 people in anticipation of possible refugee flows from Burma into China. While not specifying the reporters who had penned the articles in question, Chen commented that Western journalists often reported "what they had heard, not what they knew." HUNTSMAN