Cablegate: China-Eu Summit: Heavy On Dialogue, Light On

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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6452
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 9510
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0849

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 019032

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2016
TAGS: EU FI PREL CH
SUBJECT: CHINA-EU SUMMIT: HEAVY ON DIALOGUE, LIGHT ON
DELIVERABLES

REF: A. BRUSSELS 2815

B. HELSINKI 870

Classified By: Deputy Political Section Chief Robert Griffiths, Reasons
1.4 (b/d).

Summary
-------

1. (C) Neither the Chinese nor EU member states expect much
in the way of deliverables from the Ninth Annual EU-China
Summit in Helsinki, September 9-12. Wen Jiabao will
represent China at the Summit, hosted by current EU President
Finland, with the stated purpose of increasing dialogue and
strengthening ties between the EU and China. Wen will
deliver the keynote address at the EU-China Business Summit
on September 11. The sixth annual Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM)
focusing on trade and business development will be held
concurrently, from September 10-11. After the Summit, Wen
will travel to Germany and the UK, September 13-15, ending
his trip in Tajikistan for the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) meeting. Contacts at the EU Mission and
the Finnish, German and U.K. Embassies in Beijing said they
did not expect the EU Arms Embargo to be an issue. Beijing
will likely raise the issue of lifting the Embargo, but as
there is no consensus within the EU on the topic, no movement
is contemplated. Wen will also likely press for the EU to
grant Market Economy status to China, but no one, not even
the Chinese, expect movement on that issue either, according
to Embassy Beijing contacts. End Summary.

The Agenda
----------

2. (C) The Chinese delegation, led by Wen Jiabao, and
including Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Minister of the
National Development and Reform Commission Ma Ka and Commerce
Minister Bo Xilai, will attend the EU-China Political Summit
September 9, the EU-China Business Summit September 11-12 and
ASEM meetings September 10-11. The EU-China Political Summit
will be hosted by the Prime Minister of Finland Matti
Vanhanen and President of the European Commission, Jose
Manuel Barroso. Concurrently, Helsinki will host the
EU-Republic of Korea Summit which ROK President Roh Moo-hyun
will attend. The ASEM Summit will begin on September 10,
bringing together European and Asian Heads of States from
member states of the European Union, the ten ASEAN countries,
China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. On September 11, Wen
will deliver the Keynote Address at the EU-China Business
Summit. The Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion
of International Trade (CCPIT), Wan Jifei, and the Chairman
of Vimicro Corporation, Dr. Deng Zhonghan, will also attend
and speak at the EU-China Business summit on September 11. Bo
Xilai will also speak at this event. Wen will depart
Helsinki on September 12 and travel to London and Berlin for
bi-lateral meetings, ending his trip in Dushanbe for the SCO
meeting.

ASEM
----

3. (C) This year's ASEM meeting will be the largest ever,
comprising 39 heads of state, according to the DCM of the
Finnish Embassy in Beijing. The Korean and Indonesian
Presidents will attend, as well as Prime Minister Koizumi of
Japan. There will be no meetings between Koizumi and Premier
Wen, according to all sources consulted. Given the Yasakuni
Shrine issue and the fact that Koizumi is "on his way out"
Beijing does not see a meeting with Japan as worthwhile at
this point, according to Wu Baiyi of the China Foundation for
International and Strategic Studies. Wen will meet likly
meet with ROK President Roh, accordng to the Fins. Helsinki
invited Burma to attend the ASEM meetings, subjecting the EU
to some criticism from human rights organizations including
Human Rights Watch.

No Movement Expected on Arms Embargo
------------------------------------

4. (C) Beijing may be waiting for a more opportune moment to
push the EU to lift the arms embargo, speculated Wu. Noting
that Finland is not a big country and that this year's summit
is more about creating good will and enhancing trade and
business cooperation than advancing political agendas, Wu
said he was fairly confident that Beijing would raise the
issues of the arms embargo and of China's market economy

BEIJING 00019032 002 OF 002

status, but would not push too hard. His sentiments were
echoed by a contact at the UK Embassy who noted that Finland
does not have the clout to actively engage with China on a
wide range of issues. Despite recent statements in the press
from high level Chinese officials calling on the EU to scrap
the arms ban, notably the September 7 press briefing by Li
Ruiyu, deputy head of the MFA European department, all of
Embassy Beijing's contacts, both European and Chinese, have
said they expect no movement on either issue.

GALILEO Also Stalled
--------------------

5. (C) There will likewise be little progress made on the
Galileo satellite program cooperation with China, according
to a contact from the EU Mission in Beijing. Progress is
stalled by a variety of technical and political issues and
none will be resolved either at or before the Summit. The
Finnish DCM in Beijing echoed these sentiments.

Discussion But No Deliverables
------------------------------

6. (C) The Political Summit will cover a wide variety of
issues, with a focus on dialogue and enhancing understanding
and cooperation, according the Fins. The Fins, Brits,
Germans and EU representative all said the same thing: the
focus of the Summit is dialogue, not deliverables, although
several trade deals will be signed during the visit. The
Summit agenda includes trade policy, environmental issues,
key regional and international issues, energy security, human
rights and China's market economy status. When asked if the
German EU Presidency might present the right opportunity for
renewed pressure from Beijing to lift the arms embargo, Wu
would not speculate. One contact at the UK Embassy in
Beijing similarly noted that as Finland is a small country,
EU engagement with China at this summit cannot be expected to
be as deep as when countries like Germany fill the
presidency.
RANDT

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