Cablegate: Media Reaction: Obama's Visit to Asia, China's Diplomacy,

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RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #3082 3152305
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 112305Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6768
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS BEIJING 003082

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 KMDR OPRC CH

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: OBAMA'S VISIT TO ASIA, CHINA'S DIPLOMACY,
U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS

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Editorial Quotes
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1. OBAMA'S VISIT TO ASIA

"A look at Obama's Asia trip"

The official Communist Party People's Daily Overseas Edition (Renmin
Ribao Haiwaiban)(11/10)(pg 6): "Obama's decision to visit East Asia
at a time when the U.S. economy is in recession, various domestic
reforms are facing obstacles, and the U.S. foreign policy focus is
on the war in Afghanistan and the war against terrorism demonstrates
the Obama administration's emphasis on Asia, especially on East
Asia. The visit also proves that the United States' East Asian
policy has taken shape, and sends a clear signal that the United
States is returning to Asia. After taking office, in a change from
the Bush administration, Obama has advocated multilateralism,
seeking broad cooperation with Asian nations in areas of common
interest. The Obama administration currently needs a more practical
relationship with China; its desire to contain China is diminishing.
However, U.S. efforts to consolidate its alliance with Japan are an
effective way to prevent its East Asian interests from being damaged
while it is containing China. China should adopt a more practical
approach to dealing with Obama's new Asian policy, one that
addresses trilateral relations between the U.S., Japan and China."

2. CHINA'S DIPLOMACY

"China needs to be flexible to plaster over differences"

The official Communist Party international news publication Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(11/10)(pg 14): "The concept of a G2, with the
U.S. and China jointly managing the international system, is
gradually taking clearer shape and is being emphasized by the
international community. This reflects the subtle but profound
changes in China's bilateral relations caused by China's rise.
However, tactically speaking, moving towards a bi-polar
international system too early will not be beneficial for China's
development since it would provoke hostility from the U.S. and put
more pressure on China to shoulder international burdens. China
should skillfully use the multi-polar system to ease these
pressures. In fact, the trend is towards a three pillar system
centered on the United States, Europe and China. In the future,
China should place more emphasis on Europe to ease pressure for a
U.S.-China bi-polar system. In the Asia-Pacific region, it is
important for China to accurately judge the United States and make
use of 'the U.S. factor.' The U.S. factor is a mixed blessing for
China. It is crucial for China to learn how to deal with the U.S.
in the Asia-Pacific region and change the U.S. from an enemy into a
friend. This requires further thought on China's part, on both the
tactical and strategic level: how to allay the concerns of the
United States and Japan over China's rise and their resulting
demands on China."

3. U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS

"The 'quarrel' between Japan and the United States is not harmful"

The China Radio International sponsored newspaper World News Journal
(Shijie Xinwenbao)(11/10)(pg 5): "The U.S.-Japan alliance meets the
national security needs of both countries. Experts said that the
leaders of the United States and Japan will discuss issues such as
aid to Afghanistan and environmental protection [during President
Obama's visit to the region]. The 'Futenma airbase dispute' is
nothing but the two countries trying to test each other's red lines.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama intends to create a more
equitable alliance with the United States and is using this
opportunity to test how far Japan can go if it stops following the
U.S. At the same time, the U.S. hopes that the Futenma issue will
not be the domino that destroys the entire plan for U.S. troops in
Japan. In the end, though, the two countries need each other on
many other issues."

HUNTSMAN

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