ACTION REQUEST ON U.S.-CHINA JOINT ASSISTANCE TO

UNCLAS STATE 006320 BEIJING FOR ECON/POL AND USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOVAF ECON PAK SUBJECT: ACTION REQUEST ON U.S.-CHINA JOINT ASSISTANCE TO AFGHANISTAN REF: A. 09BEIJING3331 ¶B. 09BEIJING3332 ¶C. 09BEIJING3295 This cable is an action request. See paragraph 2. ¶1. Following November 11 discussions between a visiting U.S. delegation and the Chinese MFA (Refs A and B),the U.S.-PRC Joint Statement released during President Obama's visit to Beijing noted the strategic importance to both countries of stability and development in Afghanistan. Since then China has indicated - through the state media, public statements, and meetings with U.S. officials - increased interest in providing civilian assistance to Afghanistan. ¶2. To follow-up on decisions made during Deputy Special Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan Dan Feldman's November 11 meetings with the Chinese MFA, Department requests Post present two documents to the Chinese MFA and request China's cooperation in moving forward with concrete projects for cooperation in Afghanistan. (Note: While the November meetings covered both Afghanistan and Pakistan, at the request of the Chinese these initial proposals focus only on Afghanistan.) The first document is a proposed joint Action Plan designed to coordinate the U.S. and China's respective efforts in Afghanistan (and Pakistan) and is meant to augment the PRC's historical bilateral channels of assistance rather than to supercede them. It reflects areas for cooperation agreed upon at the November 11 meetings and constitutes a "menu of options" on which we hope to continue dialogue with China so that we ultimately can pursue some of the projects together. The second document is a detailed proposal for a joint project on education in the region of the Aynak Copper Mine. The director of MCC, the Chinese company developing the Aynak project, told D/SRAP Feldman that the MCC was committed to use part of its investment to improve the lives of the local population (Ref C). Therefore, Department developed a specific project in conjunction with USAID that reflects China's stated interests and is readily implementable. Department requests Post urge China to agree to begin implementation of this joint project as quickly as possible or to propose an alternative joint project. BEGIN TEXT OF DRAFT ACTION PLAN Proposed Action Plan on Areas for U.S.-China Cooperation on Assistance to Afghanistan Following working-level consultations in Beijing between the U.S. and China on November 11, 2009, and with the aim of helping to establish a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan within a stable South Asian region, both sides agree that the following constitute possible areas for cooperation: ¶1. Education -------------- - Working together to improve and expand vocational training within Afghanistan. - Increasing the number of scholarships for Afghan students to universities within both countries and abroad, including in China and the U.S. - Establishing schools in the villages near large infrastructure projects, including the Aynak Copper Mine, and providing both literacy and vocational training to the locally-employed workers. ¶2. Health -------------- - Cooperating to build and equip hospitals. - Providing training and necessary equipment to health care workers. - Establishing clinics and hospitals in the villages near large infrastructure projects. ¶3. Counter-Narcotics Information Sharing -------------- - Increasing information sharing and direct contact between U.S. and PRC counter-narcotics authorities at the provincial and local levels. - Working together to establish U.S.-PRC joint training of Afghan (and Pakistani) officials. ¶4. Agriculture -------------- - Building on existing U.S. programs to expand Afghanistan's agricultural capacity and China's successful experience with developing agriculture on its territory, cooperate on projects to improve agricultural capacity in Afghanistan. - Working together to support crop substitution programs and agricultural practices that are environmentally sustainable. Establishing agricultural technology demonstration centers in Afghanistan. ¶5. Infrastructure Projects -------------- - Cooperating to ensure that infrastructure projects contribute to local economic development, good governance, security and regional stability, and to developing human resources through the training and employment of local workers. - For China: considering a contribution to the ANP Trust Fund as well as in-kind contributions to offset the costs of Afghan National Police protecting the Aynak Copper Mine site. - For China: considering developing a railroad from the Aynak copper mine in Afghanistan to the Gwadar port in Pakistan, a road from Bamyan to Herat, and developing the Kajaki Dam in Northern Helmand Province. ¶6. Counterterrorism Cooperation -------------- - Expanding information sharing related to terrorist and extremist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and neighboring countries. ¶7. Energy Cooperation -------------- - Discussing energy projects through at a meeting of U.S. and PRC energy experts. ¶8. Continued Dialogue -------------- - Continuing to consult and share information on policies and activities in Afghanistan, its neighbors, and the broader region. END TEXT OF DRAFT ACTION PLAN BEGIN TEXT OF CONCEPT PAPER ON U.S.-CHINA COLLABORATION IN AFGHANISTAN'S EDUCATION SECTOR Concept Paper: Potential Areas of USG and Government of China Collaboration in the Education Sector The establishment of a large copper mine in the Aynak region of Afghanistan will bring economic growth and employment opportunities. Large infrastructure projects such as this mine also bring an increasing demand for social services, such as education, as an influx of workers and others relocate to take advantage of these opportunities. The USG and the Government of China could collaborate to ensure the adequate provision of quality education services for residents surrounding the Aynak region. Following are potential areas of cooperation in the education sector between the USG and the Government of China. These recommendations are based on working-level consultations in Beijing between the U.S. and China on November 11, 2009, and with the aim of helping to establish a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan and Pakistan within a stable South Asia region. -- Establishing formal schools in the villages near large infrastructure projects, including the Aynak Copper Mine: Constructing schools alone does not ensure quality of education. Where the Government of China constructs formal primary and/or secondary schools in partnership with the Afghan Ministry of Education (MOE),the USG could support teacher training activities. USAID could, in conjunction with the MOE, expand its teacher training programs to include the Aynak region. These programs provide subject-specific pedagogy as well as training for school leaders, delivered by district-based teacher training teams who provide follow-up to help the teachers implement new teaching methods. -- Establishing community-schools in areas where government schools are not yet established: The Partnership for Community Education in Afghanistan (PACE-A) project assists the Government of Afghanistan to strengthen and increase high-quality community-based education in areas where there are no government schools. The project has two components: expanding access to community-based schools, strengthening community structures and improving the quality of community-based education; and building the long-term capacity of civil society organizations and developing modes of cooperation between community-based and MOE schools. If China could build and equip facilities in the Aynak region where government schools are not yet established, USAID could expand this program to cover community-based education in those schools. -- Expanding non-formal education opportunities: Frequently, large infrastructure projects can help local small businesses flourish as local populations develop small businesses such as tailoring, restaurants, and shops that respond to needs of a growing work force. However, Afghanistan has some of the lowest literacy rates in the world, making it difficult for many to seize these opportunities. USAID's Learning for Community Empowerment Program (LCEP-2) project provides adults with literacy and numeracy training integrated with productive skills training. Additionally, LCEP-2 emphasizes providing career pathways for women through their engagement in literacy, self help savings and investment groups, and by teaching basic entrepreneurship and business skills that will assist them to start small enterprises. If China could build and equip facilities and develop vocational training programs in disciplines that would benefit the copper mine, the USG could expand the LCEP-2 program to provide literacy training to the same students and both literacy and entrepreneurship training to members of their families. This combination of training could help small businesses flourish in the area of Aynak. END TEXT OF CONCEPT PAPER CLINTON