Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TOKYO2876
2009-12-16 08:08:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

XI JINPING MEETS HATOYAMA

Tags:  PREL PGOV PINR CH JA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 002876 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR CH JA
SUBJECT: XI JINPING MEETS HATOYAMA

TOKYO 00002876 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: DCM James P. Zumwalt per 1.4 (b/d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 002876

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR CH JA
SUBJECT: XI JINPING MEETS HATOYAMA

TOKYO 00002876 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: DCM James P. Zumwalt per 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: PRC Vice President Xi Jinping had a "good
and productive meeting" with PM Hatoyama December 14, and Xi
strongly endorsed China's policy of attaching importance to
Sino-Japan ties, MOFA Asia DG Akitaka Saiki told the DCM
December 15. PM Hatoyama told Xi that the linchpin of
Japan's foreign policy is its relationship with the United
States, and upon this foundation Japan will develop good
relations with China and other neighbors. "Relations among
and between the U.S., Japan and China should be plus-sum, not
zero-sum," Hatoyama said. Without going into detail, Xi
offered his support for Japan's view of the East Asian
Community. Hatoyama raised (and got no response to) East
China Sea economic development and PRC military transparency.
Hatoyama also called for bilateral cooperation to make COP
15 succeed. Food safety and the government procurement
issues did not come up. Xi also had a good meeting with the
Emperor, although the process of setting it up has caused
some political blowback for Hatoyama's government, Saiki
said. End Summary.

PM Meeting
--------------


2. (C) PRC Vice President Xi Jinping had a "good and
productive meeting" with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
December 14, and the two covered many subjects during their
nearly hour-long conversation, MOFA Asia DG Akitaka Saiki
told Embassy Tokyo DCM December 15. Saiki, who participated
in the meeting, said that he sensed that Xi would continue
the PRC's policy of attaching importance to China-Japan ties,
including their "strategic and mutually beneficial
relationship." The PM explained to Xi that the "core" and
"linchpin" of Japan's foreign policy is its relationship with
the United States. "With this as a cornerstone," Japan seeks
to develop good relations with China and other countries in
the Asia-Pacific region, Hatoyama told Xi. Relations among
and between the United States, Japan and China should be
"plus-sum" as opposed to "zero-sum," Hatoyama added. Xi
"nodded in response," Saiki said.


3. (C) Xi said that China attaches great importance to

Sino-Japan ties, and this relationship is an "important part"
of China's overall foreign policy, Saiki reported. On the
subject of Hatoyama's proposed East Asian Community, Xi
offered his endorsement, but did not go into details.
Hatoyama also raised the subject of East China Sea economic
development and called on China to show greater transparency
in its military expenditures, but Xi did not respond to
either. (Note: On the subject of the East China Sea, Saiki
said that he met separately with Vice Minister Wu Dawei and
complained about the lack of progress on this matter in spite
of four director-level meetings. "Unless there is progress,
it will be hard to persuade opposition politicians and other
conservatives who are insisting on Japan's rights in the East
China Sea," Saiki told Wu. Wu responded that he understood
the importance of progress, and after some consideration,
accepted Saiki's proposal to have DG-level discussions in
Beijing towards the end of December. Saiki said he would
"disguise" these discussions as Six-Party-related
consultations, Saiki added. End Note.)


4. (C) Saiki said that PM Hatoyama did not raise the subject
of food safety because it appears that the Chinese Government
is quietly making progress on this matter and perhaps soon
will be ready to establish a food safety dialogue mechanism
with Japan akin to what it has with the United States. The
issue of the Chinese Government procurement also did not come
up, Saiki said. Hatoyama also called for bilateral
cooperation to make COP 15 succeed.

Emperor Meeting
--------------


5. (C) Xi had a good meeting with the Emperor as well, Saiki
continued. In fact, prior to the meeting, Xi had shown great
interest in the proper protocol procedures for greeting the
Emperor, including whether or not he should bow and what part
of his meeting with the Emperor would be photographed. Xi
bowed "very deeply" -- off camera -- before walking towards
the Emperor, at which point he shook hands -- on camera. "Xi
seemed to know how to please the Japanese side while taking
into consideration his own concerns about being photographed

TOKYO 00002876 002.2 OF 002


while bowing," Saiki said.


6. (C) The Chinese Embassy made a late request for a Xi
meeting with the Emperor (November 22),to which the Imperial
Household Agency (IHA) responded that requests of less than
one month's lead time cannot be accommodated. PRC Ambassador
Cui Tiankai's entreaties to FM Okada were to no avail, and
even the Prime Minister agreed that the IHA's prerogatives
needed to be heeded. To compensate for this lack of an
audience with the Emperor, MOFA added a number of protocol
bells and whistles to the visit, including displaying the
PRC's flags around town and arranging a PM-hosted banquet for
80 people (events normally reserved for official visits of
heads of state and government). At the 11th hour, ruling DPJ
Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa stepped in and "arranged" for
the IHA to break its own rule and accept a meeting with Xi,
Saiki explained. (Note: Ozawa, himself leading a major
delegation to the PRC at the same time Xi was to be in Japan,
was likely trying to improve the atmospherics of own visit,
rather than seeking to garner favor with Xi. End Note.)


7. (C) Once the meeting with the Emperor was arranged, it was
too late to turn off the flags and other protocol
accouterments, and MOFA has been placed in a tough spot
trying to explain to the opposition LDP and others why Xi
received such generous treatment, Saiki said. (Note: For
his part, Ozawa has been roundly criticized in the press for
his "political use" of the Emperor, and his public quarrel
with the head of the IHA has generated negative publicity for
himself and the Hatoyama government. End Note.)
ROOS