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