Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10BEIJING327
2010-02-08 08:13:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION: DALAI LAMA, U.S.-CHINA TRADE RELATIONS

Tags:  PREL ECON SENV KGHG KMDR OPRC CH 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000327 

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: PREL ECON SENV KGHG KMDR OPRC CH

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: DALAI LAMA, U.S.-CHINA TRADE RELATIONS

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Editorial Quotes
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000327

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: PREL ECON SENV KGHG KMDR OPRC CH

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: DALAI LAMA, U.S.-CHINA TRADE RELATIONS

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Editorial Quotes
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1. DALAI LAMA

"China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson remarks on planned
Obama-Dalai meeting"

The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao)
(02/06)(pg 3): "Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu
said, 'China resolutely opposes the visit by the Dalai Lama to the
United States, and resolutely opposes U.S. leaders having contact
with the Dalai Lama.' Ma continued to note that such a position [by
China] is 'constant and clear.' During President Obama's November
visit to China, Chinese leaders had elaborated on such a stance. We
urge the U.S. to realize the high sensitivity of Tibet-related
issues, to seriously treat China's stance and concern, to not permit
the Dalai Lama's visit and to cease arranging meetings between him
and U.S. leaders so as to avoid further undermining of China-U.S.
ties." (Note: Another major official newspaper Guangming Daily also
published this report.)


2. U.S.-CHINA TRADE RELATIONS

a. "Sino-U.S. 'trade war' is heating up again"

The Shanghai-based Shanghai Media Group (SMG) publication, China
Business News (Diyi Caijing)(02/08)(pg A1): "The United States
provoked a trade war again by imposing high anti-dumping duties on
Chinese-made gift boxes and packaging ribbon. This once again shows
that 2010 is off to a difficult start for Sino-U.S. relations. It
also reflects that, because of the mid-term elections, Obama is
eager to prove to the American voters that the U.S. Administration's
China policy is tough so as to restore his declining support rate.
Yao Jian, the Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, issued a statement
on February 1, saying that following the financial crisis American
trade protectionism has risen. China has become the biggest victim
of the U.S.'s abusive implementation of trade remedy measures.
While the anti-dumping and counter-veiling cases the U.S. is
imposing against China are relatively small in terms of value for a
particular industry, however they are related to the food and

clothing of a lot of people. Ye Hailin, deputy director of the
Asia-Pacific Institute at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
believes that, apart from other disharmonious factors between China
and the U.S., Sino-U.S. trade friction in 2010 is very worrisome.
Although the total volume of trade involved is not very large, it is
enough to affect the overall Sino-U.S. relationship."

b. "The United States no longer sits still; it frequently uses evil
tricks to force China to buy U.S. bonds"

The Shanghai-based Shanghai Media Group (SMG) publication, China
Business News (Diyi Caijing)(02/08)(pg A7): "This time the quick
change of the U.S. policy (toward China) has surprised quite a few
people. The U.S. has almost used all deterring means, besides
military means, against China. China must be clear on discovering
what the U.S. goals are behind its tough stances against China. In
fact, a fierce competition between the currencies of big countries
has just started. A crucial move for the U.S. is to shift its
crisis to other countries - by coercing China to buy U.S. treasury
bonds with foreign exchange reserves and doing everything possible
to prevent China's foreign reserve from buying gold. The nature of
such behavior is a rogue lawyer's behavior of 'ripping off both
sides': taking advantage of cross-strait divergences, blackmailing
the Taiwan people's wealth by selling arms to Taiwan, and meanwhile
coercing China to buy U.S. treasury bonds with foreign exchange
reserves and extorting wealth from the mainland's people. If we
[China] use all of our foreign exchange reserves to buy U.S.
Treasury bonds, then when someday the U.S. Federal Reserve suddenly
announces that the original ten old U.S. dollars are now worth only
one new U.S. dollar, and the new U.S. dollar is pegged to the gold -
we will be dumbfounded. Today when the United States is determined
to beggar thy neighbor, shifting its crisis to China, the Chinese
must be very clear what the key to victory is. It is by no means to
use new foreign exchange reserves to buy U.S. Treasury bonds. The
issues of Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, trade and so on are all false
tricks, while forcing China to buy U.S. bonds is the U.S.'s real
intention."

c. "Sino-U.S. trade friction is escalating but still manageable"

Guangdong 21st Century Publishing Company Ltd.'s business newspaper
21st Century Business Herald (21Shiji Jingji Baodao)(02/08)(pg 1):
"On February 5, the Commerce Department reported the primary ruling
on anti-dumping investigations on the U.S. chicken products.
Although China started the investigation last September, now happens
to also be the occasion when President Obama pushed China on RMB
appreciation, insisted on arms sales to Taiwan and will meet with

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the Dalai Lama. For its twelfth five-year plan, China will promote
governments at all levels to conduct their policy objectives:
transformation from 'GDP-oriented only' to 'employment first.'
China and the U.S.'s emphasis on 'employment first' at the same time
will trigger a fierce collision. Now the appropriate interpretation
of trade friction theory is 'productivity change' theory - the
ability of a country, whose development is slower than other
countries, to learn also produced root causes for severe trade
friction and no country will be satisfied with the status of the
initial division of labor. As a result, Sino-U.S. 'trade zones in
conflict' will become larger and the two will compete with each
other for jobs. Unlike Japan, which is politically dependent on the
United States, China is independent from the U.S. China will make
some changes in enlarging the imports of American products and the
RMB appreciation, but only to a limited extent. Despite the
enlarging Sino-U.S. 'trade zones in conflict,' the intensity will be
lower than during the U.S.-Japan trade conflict. If Obama turns
himself into both 'Wall Street's opposition,' and also the 'enemy'
of U.S. big business, then the intensity of Sino-U.S. trade conflict
will rise. However, if Obama wants to narrow down as far as
possible this divide, then the Sino-U.S. trade friction, while
formidable, is still manageable."

HUNTSMAN