MEDIA REACTION: PRESIDENT OBAMA TO TURKEY; G-20 SUMMIT

UNCLAS HONG KONG 000660 DEPT FOR INR/R/MR, INR/IC/CD, I/FW DEPT FOR EAP/PD, EAP/CM, EAP/P DEPT FOR VOA/BRF, TV-WPA WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC PRC POSTS FOR PA AIT USPACOM FOR FOR CIS PD ADVISER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: PRESIDENT OBAMA TO TURKEY; G-20 SUMMIT TOPICS: ¶1. President Obama to Turkey ¶2. G-20 summit HEADLINES AND EXCERPTS: ¶1. President Obama to Turkey "A new beginning for the U.S. in the Islamic world" The independent English-language South China Morning Post said in an editorial (4/8): "U.S. President Barack Obama needs to do a substantial amount of work to repair his country's damaged relations with the Islamic world. Much was therefore made of his trip this week to Turkey, his first visit to a Muslim-majority country as American leader. His speech to the Turkish parliament and talks with religious heads were handled with care and sensitivity. The groundwork has been laid; both sides must now put every effort into building on the process to bridge what has become a dangerous divide.... The biggest barrier to better relations between the west and Muslims is understanding; Mr Obama went a long way to fostering this in Turkey. But the nation is neither the Muslim heartland nor a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism. A dramatic address to the Muslim world would have to be made on a different stage. Nonetheless, Mr Obama has expressed the necessary sentiments, and in the right way. He has embarked on the mission astutely. Mistrust lies in the way, but a new beginning has been promised and what has been created must be embraced and built upon." ¶2. G-20 summit "Scaling the summit" Commentator Frank Ching wrote in the 'Insight' page in the independent English-language South China Morning Post (4/8): "The Group of 20 summit in London is being hailed as a great success by almost all participants, including those who had previously held diametrically opposed views, with the Americans and British on one side and the French and Germans on the other. Without doubt, however, China emerged as a winner. President Hu Jintao was treated with great respect, being seated at the right side of the host, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, during dinner and in official photographs of the assembled leaders.... Interestingly, China's proposal for a new reserve currency to replace the U.S. dollar was not on the agenda of the G20 meeting, and the Chinese did not raise the issue. That was probably because they were pretty happy with the outcome, both of the G20 itself and of all the meetings on the sidelines. China has now arrived and henceforth will be treated with the respect due to a major power." DONOVAN