MEDIA REACTION: DIAOYU ISLAND, CHINA'S DIPLOMACY, FINANCIAL

UNCLAS BEIJING 000612

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: OPRC KMDR CH

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: DIAOYU ISLAND, CHINA'S DIPLOMACY, FINANCIAL
CRISIS

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Editorial Quotes
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1. DIAOYU ISLAND

"Diaoyu Island issue, why is the U.S. ambiguous on this issue?"

The China Radio International sponsored newspaper World News Journal
(Shijie Xinwenbao)(03/09): "For the U.S. government, their ambiguity
on Diaoyu Island is in their own interests. But now, the U.S.
government is in deep trouble with the war in Afghanistan and Iraq
as well as in financial trouble, so it is relying heavily on both
China and Japan. Therefore, the U.S. cannot afford the risk involved
in taking a stand in the Diaoyu Island issue. If the trouble gets
worse, the U.S. will find a new foothold in East Asian politics.
This will be one of their cards, should Japan seek independence, or
if there is any friction in the China-U.S. relationship. Alarmingly,
although the U.S. is diplomatically ambiguous to the issue, it is
prepared militarily to take a stand."


2. CHINA'S DIPLOMACY

a. "Chinese diplomacy doesn't have to be high profile"

The official Communist Party international news publication Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(03/09): "Chinese diplomacy needs to focus on
self instead of focusing on others needs or following in others
footsteps. The foundation of Chinese diplomacy needs to be based on
their current national strategy. China's influence is only limited
to Asia, especially Eastern, Southern and Central Asia. China's
culture, philosophy and tradition don't have the nature of
expansion. The nature will not change in the future. Most countries'
national strategy will focus on domestic affairs. Most of the time,
diplomacy and the outside world are less important than economic
development, national security and the improvement of living
standards within China."

b. "For China: Don't think that because you are getting 'stronger
and stronger' that that alone is a 'cure all'"

The official Communist Party international news publication Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(03/09): "Many people believe that as China
becomes stronger, issues such as land disputes will be automatically
resolved. However, this new strength is not a cure all for Chinese's
frictions with other countries. Such unrealistic hope will cause
obstacles to building trust between China and other countries to
form. If we believe that each country will become powerful in its
own right, then this is just another form of hegemony. It is not
surprising that the West will be scared and feel threatened by this.
We have successfully solved the Hong Kong and Macau issues so;
other, similar issues will be solved through cooperation as well.
Believing in a 'cure all strength' is still admiring power. But
justice should not rely on pure power and power can't solve all the
issues. Sometimes being overly powerful has the opposite effect."


3. FINANCIAL CRISIS

"Facing crisis, our focus should be emphasized on strategy not on
ideology"

The official Communist Party international news publication Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(03/09): "China seems to be the only bright
color in this bleak time. People are saying that capitalism is not
working. However, this is not true. The problems that we face today
are not caused by a single type of ideology. The real problem is
that, globally, there is excessive productivity and too little
consumption. Anyone who fully scrutinizes why the financial crisis
broke out in the U.S. first, will find that there are capitalist and
socialist elements to the crisis. The economic downturn is not due
to the failure of capitalism. Socialists elements refer to the fact
that the U.S. government has established certain regulations to
ensure low-income people and minorities will be able to get real
estate loans as well, which has led banks to lower their credit
evaluations. Even if China is excelling above the rest, it has its
own problems. For example, the country is overly dependent on
exports and China should focus on its own development and
efficiencies. No matter if Washington and Beijing are in agreement,
if the model leads to prosperity, it is a good model."

PICCUTA