AMBASSADOR'S JIANGSU TRIP BUILDS TIES WITH RISING LOCAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000477 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EIND EINV PREL KIPR CH ETRD SCUL SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S JIANGSU TRIP BUILDS TIES WITH RISING LOCAL LEADERS REF: A. SHANGHAI 472 ¶B. SHANGHAI 381 SHANGHAI 00000477 001.2 OF 002 (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet publication; not for dissemination outside USG channels. ¶1. (SBU) Ambassador Huntsman's three-city swing through Jiangsu province December 2-4 offered the opportunity to meet a crop of rising provincial leaders, introduce Consulate Shanghai's new officer for Nanjing Affairs, discuss the local business climate, promote intellectual property rights protection, speak with university students, launch a Wuxi-Utah environmental partnership, and re-visit the site where he and Mrs. Huntsman adopted their daughter ten years ago. Officials rolled out the red carpet at each stop - Nanjing, Yangzhou, and Suzhou - as media turned out in force. End Summary. -------------- Jiangsu Keen on IPR Protection -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On December 2, Jiangsu Provincial Party Secretary Liang Baohua told Ambassador Huntsman that trade between Jiangsu and the U.S. comprises 18 percent of the total U.S.-China trade volume, at USD 58.8 billion. Jiang claimed that U.S. companies have invested in 9,595 projects in Jiangsu. Moving to educational exchange programs, Liang cited the Hopkins Nanjing Center as well as joint programs with Yale, University of Maryland, SUNY, and MIT. Jiangsu Province sends as many as 60 government and business leaders for training to the University of Maryland and Harvard, he added. Liang and the Ambassador discussed the value of educational exchange and the importance of American students studying Chinese language. Liang expressed his hope that some of the 100,000 American students President Obama plans to send for study abroad to China will come to Jiangsu. ¶3. (SBU) Liang told the Ambassador he hoped for increased collaboration with the U.S. in technology and high-tech equipment. He said China turns to other countries for assistance with technology because dealing with the United States in this area is fraught with difficulty. Citing a recent attempt by the Jiangsu government to purchase two helicopters from an American company, Liang said that the company had to renege on the contract because the USG would not permit the export of the helicopters to China. The Ambassador noted that export control policy is currently under review in Washington. He added that intellectual property rights (IPR) protection is also important in spurring an increase in technology transfer. Noting that many business people cite Jiangsu as a leader in IPR protection, the Ambassador proposed working with Jiangsu to identify it as a model IPR province and thus direct more American businesses to Jiangsu. Liang eagerly welcomed the prospect of increased cooperation and reiterated that Jiangsu takes IPR protection very seriously. -------------- - U.S. is Nanjing's Most Important Trade Partner -------------- - ¶4. (SBU) Nanjing Municipal Party Secretary Mr. Zhu Shanlu put his city's relationship with the U.S. in the forefront by arranging for the Ambassador to help open a photo exhibit December 2 entitled, "Nanjing Memory in Sino-U.S. Relations." Zhu stated his desire to deepen the cooperation between the U.S. and Nanjing. Calling the U.S. the most important foreign trading partner for Nanjing, Zhu highlighted the fact that Nanjing hosted the EU-China Summit at the end of November, and noted that Nanjing is bidding to host the second World Youth Olympics scheduled for 2014. Zhu requested the Ambassador's assistance in garnering support from the U.S. delegate to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the February vote in Vancouver. (Note: The Department has since informed us that we never adopt a position on Olympic bids. End Note) ¶5. (U) The Ambassador called Nanjing the best historical example of U.S.-China cooperation. He introduced Consulate General Shanghai's new Nanjing outreach officer and spoke of the importance of both educational exchange and economic cooperation. (Note: Later the same day, the Ambassador delivered a well-received speech to over 150 students, professors and university officials at the Johns Hopkins - Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. End Note) Zhu was particularly interested in cooperation in the educational field and said he would like to attract more American students to Nanjing. -------------- SHANGHAI 00000477 002.2 OF 002 Yangzhou Wants Foreign Direct Investment -------------- ¶6. (SBU) From Nanjing, the Ambassador and Mrs. Huntsman traveled December 3 to Yangzhou, the city where they adopted their daughter Gracie Mei in 1999 (ref A). After warmly welcoming the Huntsman family, Yangzhou Municipal Party Secretary Ms. Wang Yanwen underscored the importance of foreign direct investment in Yangzhou. She named Colgate-Palmolive as the largest American presence in Yangzhou, manufacturing approximately 1.5 billion toothbrushes annually. Additionally, Yangzhou is hoping to attract investment from high-tech industries. Wang also cited the tourism industry as another important facet of Yangzhou's economy and hoped the Ambassador's visit would improve Yangzhou's profile among potential tourists. ¶7. (SBU) Yangzhou Acting Mayor Mr. Xie Zhengyi reiterated Wang's comment on tourism to the Ambassador in a separate December 3 meeting and requested the Ambassador's assistance in promoting Yangzhou as an attractive tourist destination to foreign audiences. Xie noted that he also sought to promote the development of Yangzhou enterprises in information technology and alternative energy. -------------- Suzhou: China's 5th Largest Municipal Economy -------------- ¶8. (SBU) In Suzhou on December 4, Party Secretary Mr. Jiang Hongkun told the Ambassador that Suzhou boasts the fifth largest municipal-level economy in China, behind only Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Suzhou's exports in 2008, valued at USD 228.5 billion, represented approximately 10 percent of the total value of all national exports. Jiang said that 20,000 foreign-invested companies had operations in Suzhou, including Microsoft and General Electric. ¶9. (SBU) The Ambassador praised Suzhou for its large and growing economy, relating comments from U.S. business representatives who told the Ambassador that they had no complaints about their investments in Suzhou. In response to Jiang's comments about the negative impact of the global economic downturn on Suzhou's export-oriented economy, the Ambassador said the coordinated response by the U.S. and China was a positive example of the two most important global powers focusing on shared interests in solving a problem of global import. ¶10. (U) On the press side, the visit was highly publicized and positively received, garnering substantial coverage from regional outlets in addition to a few national outlets. Most stories focused on the Ambassador's personal connection to Yangzhou and Jiangsu, and highlighted his comments that today's youth will play a critical future role in promoting mutual understanding between the U.S. and China. -------------- Comment and Bio Notes -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Jiangsu really rolled out the red carpet for the Ambassador, providing excellent entree to introduce our new Nanjing outreach officer and increase our contacts with rising leaders. In each of these jurisdictions, from the province on down, meetings with the top party official were arranged without question. This despite the fact that our requests to meet with Party institutions at lower levels have generally been denied in Jiangsu, as elsewhere. ¶12. (SBU) Although Liang Baohua is near retirement age, all of the Ambassador's other interlocutors are potential candidates for higher office (for further details, see ref B). The two Yangzhou leaders, Party Secretary Wang Yanwen (49) and Mayor Xie Zhengyi (41),seem particularly likely to move up the political career ladder. Only 41 years old and holding a rank equivalent to a departmental Director-General in a Central Government ministry, Xie is obviously a fast-rising political figure. If he does well as Suzhou Municipal Party Secretary, Jiang Hongkun is also likely to end up in a higher position, as past Suzhou officials have done. End Comment and Bio Notes. ¶13. (U) Embassy Beijing cleared this report. CAMP