MEDIA REACTION: FINANCE, KOREAN PENINSULA, CHINA AND

UNCLAS BEIJING 003441 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 SENV KGHG KMDR OPRC CH SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: FINANCE, KOREAN PENINSULA, CHINA AND COMBODIA -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. FINANCE "U.S. political whip wounds Sino-U.S. trade" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(12/23)(pg 14): "Growing Sino-U.S. economic and trade ties seem to have been beaten by a whip. This whip is in fact the American people's 'political calculation.' U.S. high-tech exports to China have been impeded by this whip. Chinese people who want to do normal business or acquire companies in the U.S. are under constant political interference. Recently, the United States' St. Eugene Mining Corporation Ltd. announced that a Chinese mining company was forced to abandon its takeover offer since the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will propose stopping the transaction to Obama. Just as it did four years ago, history is repeating itself. Due to the obstruction of the CFIUS, the acquisition of American Unocal Corp. by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (Cnooc) has failed. It seems that there is still the same political mentality in the minds of some people in Washington. Chinese businesses are often monitored by Washington's 'political radar' even when they are trying to do business in a third country. If the U.S. government can break this political whip they could focus more on the positive side and bring the United States more opportunities. " ¶2. KOREAN PENINSULA "The situation on the Korean Peninsula is becoming complex once again" The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao)(12/23)(pg 13): "Chen Xiangyang, a researcher of the Division for Korean Peninsula Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, pointed out that the confrontations and disputes between the DPRK and South Korea over the sea boarder, as well as the restoration of a military hotline indicates that each of the two countries has their own agenda. South Korea would like to be seen as the 'victim' of the DPRK's 'provocation' and the DPRK wants to highlight the necessity for negotiations and peace agreements on the Korea Peninsula. All these facts indirectly remind the United States that based on their 2007 meeting with South Korean and DPRK leaders, they must convert the armistice mechanism for the Korean Peninsula into a peace mechanism." ¶3. CHINA AND COMBODIA "Cambodia's repatriation of Chinese has nothing to do with aid" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(12/23)(pg 3): "Considering the Western accusations following Cambodia's repatriation of 20 illegal Chinese Xinjiang Uighur immigrants, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said, 'the relevant accusations against us are groundless. China and Cambodia have maintained a comprehensive partnership of cooperation and we have provided aid to Cambodia within our capacity. This aid has no strings attached... According to my knowledge, some of the Uighurs are suspects in criminal cases.' Zhu Yuzhu, an English editor of Cambodia's Jianhua Daily [a Cambodian newspaper run by Chinese Cambodians], said that there is nothing wrong with a sovereign state making a decision which considers its national interests. If the United States can abandon so-called universal values like human rights to make a compromise in Cambodia [a reference to Sen. John Kerry' letter to the U.S. Congress Human Rights Commission on the rule of law and human rights issues in Cambodia], then why can't Cambodia make its own choice out of its own national interests. Moreover, such a choice is made within the law." GOLDBERG