JILIN TRADE FAIRS: CHINESE SELF-ADULATION, LOCAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SHENYANG 000167

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/CM
MOSCOW PASS TO VLADIVOSTOK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2019
TAGS: CH ECIN ELTN ETRD KN KS PREL RS
SUBJECT: JILIN TRADE FAIRS: CHINESE SELF-ADULATION, LOCAL
ECONOMY

Classified By: Consul General Stephen B. Wickman. Reasons 1.4(b/d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Trade fairs in Northeast China are becoming
larger productions, with aims beyond mere regional
cooperation. The Chinese seem to be moving away from the
UNDP Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) begun in the early 1990s
to new China-only regional projects. Northeast China's main
trade fair presented international themes, much of which had
very little to do with Northeast Asia or trade. Jilin's
local economy remains stable. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) Consul General and ConGenOff participated in
Northeast China's principal regional trade fair in Changchun
September 1-3. Consul General and ConGenOff also traveled
to the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture August 26-31 to
participate in a local trade fair.

GTI PASSING: CHANG-JI-TU IS THE NEW WAY TO GO
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3. (SBU) The Greater Tumen Initiative (formerly known as the
Tumen River Area Development Programme or TRADP) epitomizes
much of what previous NE China fairs were comprised of: many
people making broad proclamations about Northeast Asian
cooperation while positing regional, multilateral methods of
developing joint transportation corridors and trade zones
with little action to move projects forward. TRADP began in
1991 with the objective of creating a joint economic zone
where China, Russia, and the DPRK share a border, but after
a name change, the addition of Mongolia, and 18 years later,
the GTI aims merely, according to the UN's website, to
provide a series of multilateral forums "for the member
countries to identify and implement regional initiatives
that encourage economic growth, improve living standards and
contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia."


4. (C) At the September 1 forum, a visiting Russian
parliamentarian spoke about the need to "focus on reality,"
alluding to the fact that political realities have
frustrated most of these trans-border efforts. Later, a
Chinese municipal executive secretary from Jilin Province
told us that while the GTI and Tumen River development have
now been elevated to national-level status, the central
government has yet to budget any money for these
initiatives.


5. (SBU) The trade fair organizers continued to feature the
GTI prominently and invited a large UN contingent to attend,
but Chinese officials seem to be putting their words and
money towards a separate effort called the Chang-Ji-Tu
corridor. Chang-Ji-Tu is shorthand for Changchun-Jilin-
Tumen, a string of cities from the Jilin provincial capital
stretching southeast towards China's border with Russia and
North Korea. At both the large regional Changchun trade
fair and much smaller Yanbian trade fair, Chinese officials
linked the Chang-Ji-Tu corridor with real, actionable
infrastructure projects.


6. (SBU) Already home to Jilin's railway to North Korea and
a limited-access expressway connecting Changchun with Tumen
on the PRC-DPRK border, the Chang-Ji-Tu corridor will be
extended to the PRC-Russia border once the expressway
reaches Hunchun, the border city linking the three
countries, at the end of 2010. The central government is
also constructing a high-speed rail line from Changchun to
Tumen, reducing a seven-hour journey two and a half hours.
Through Chang-Ji-Tu, the Chinese, as opposed to the
Russians, Mongolians, and North Koreans, are the only
players in the GTI region making actual long-term
investments in infrastructure.

YANBIAN ECONOMY: REAL ESTATE WOES, NEW SHIPPING LINES?
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7. (C) In an August 27 meeting with the Consul General,
Yanji Mayor Zhao Zhexue said the Yanbian Korean Autonomous
Prefecture's economy was driven by real estate speculation
fueled by foreign remittances from workers in South Korea,
Japan, and elsewhere. Following South Korea's currency
troubles late last year, the Yanji real estate market had
experienced a serious slowdown, but Zhao reported the
economic situation had stabilized.


8. (C) Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefectural Governor Li
Longxi told the Consul General on August 27 that he was
working closely with Niigata Prefectural leadership in Japan
to develop shipping lines. The Niigata Prefectural

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Government had already contributed some funds to this
effort, and Governor Li planned on joining the effort with
his own budget. He said currently cargo takes 12 or more
days to reach Niigata from Yanbian or Jilin, but a new route
through Hunchun and Zarubino would only take two days.

TRADE FAIRS: SHOWCASES FOR CHINESE ADVANCEMENT
-------------- -


9. (C) Lengthy presentations in Changchun on South-South
Cooperation and the occasional anti-U.S. statement this year
suggested that Northeast Asia economic development was not
the main focus of Northeast China's largest trade fair.
One African keynote speaker, for example, engaged in a
minute-long tirade against Western imperialism, contrasting
it with the "transparent" and "fair" nature of the Chinese
presence in Africa today, saying "the West has no right to
criticize China... the West never compensated Africa for its
resources... China respects Africa." A more realistic
attitude prevailed among the local attendees. A Chinese
business contact confided that he was "forced by government
officials to attend" and that he and his colleagues viewed
such events as purely vanity affairs that did not help
businesses.

WICKMAN