From: <a href="http://www.aftenposten.no/spesial/wikileaksdokumenter/article3960209.ece">Aftenposten</a><br>
Date: 12.02.2010

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 000383
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: 
DECL: 02/12/2030 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MASS, MARR, TW, CHINA, EUN 
SUBJECT: STOMP AROUND AND CARRY A SMALL STICK: CHINA´S NEW "GLOBAL 
ASSERTIVENESS" RAISES HACKLES, BUT HAS MORE FORM THAN SUBSTANCE
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Goldberg. 
Reasons 1.4 B and D.

1. (C)
Summary: The harsh (per usual) PRC reaction to the recent U.S.
announcement of arms sales to Taiwan and President Obama´s
intention to meet with the Dalai Lama has focused Chinese
domestic attention on a phenomenon already observed (and
criticized) abroad: China´s muscle-flexing, triumphalism and
assertiveness in its diplomacy. Foreign diplomats note that
China is making no friends with its newly pugnacious attitude,
but the popular assessment of China´s stance, personified by
the nationalistic, jingoistic and Chinese Communist
Party-affiliated newspaper Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao), is
"it´s about time." More thoughtful observers in China argue
that this attitude has more form than substance and is
designed to play to Chinese public opinion. They are disturbed
by this trend and say that Vice Premier Li Keqiang´s speech in
Davos January 28 should be seen as evidence that China´s
leadership is looking to soften China´s perceived sharp
elbows. One senior media contact advised that foreign
observers should not take Chinese rhetorical strutting too
seriously, as "actions speak louder than words." End summary.

Aggressive Chinese Diplomacy: Losing Friends Worldwide 
------------------------------------------------------

2. (C)
Numerous third-country diplomats have complained to us that
dealing with China has become more difficult in the past year.
The Europeans have been the most vocal in their criticism.
xxxx, EU Mission xxxx in Beijing, said EU leaders had not been
happy that at the November 2009 PRC-EU Summit, Premier Wen
Jiabao had stated that China "expected" the EU to lift its
arms embargo before the next summit. UK Embassy PolCouns xxxx
said February 4 that China´s behavior at the Copenhagen
Climate Change Summit in December had been "truly shocking"
and that Chinese officials´ attitude toward other delegations
had been rude and arrogant to the point where both the UK and
French Embassies had been instructed to complain formally
about the treatment their leaders had received from the
Chinese, specifically from Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei.
Wilson noted that the MFA had not been receptive to these
demarches and neither the UK nor France had received a
response.

3. (C)
Indian and Japanese ambassadors voiced similar complaints in
recent meetings with the Ambassador. On January 26, Indian
Ambassador S. Jaishankar said India would like to "coordinate
more closely" with the United States in the face of China´s
"more aggressive approach to international relations."
Japanese Ambassador Yuji Miyamoto said February 2 that
Japanese corporations had been experiencing some of the same
difficulties doing business in China as other international
companies had reported. Japan had noted a degree of "hubris"
in China´s attitude, he said.

4. (C)
Japanese xxxx told PolOff February 5 that Japan was frustrated
with Chinese "inflexibility" on issues relating to the East
China Sea. On development of oil and gas fields, where Chinese
companies have already started extraction work, China had
agreed to Japanese participation. However, China was being
"very stubborn" and not following through on its agreements.
Even more worrying, xxxx reported, was the increased
aggressiveness of Chinese "coast guard" and naval units, which
had provoked "many dangerous encounters" with Japanese
civilian and Self-Defense Force ships. "We have not reported
all of these encounters," xxxx admitted.

5. (C)
xxxx added that Japan had heard similar complaints from its
embassies in Southeast Asia about China´s behavior on South
China Sea issues. He said his Indonesian and Singaporean
colleagues in Beijing had referred to PRC policy in the South
China Sea as "more aggressive and arrogant." The Japanese
Embassy in Bangkok reported that in spring 2009 before the
Pattaya ASEAN-plus-3 Summit (later rescheduled and moved to a
different location) the Chinese had been "aggressive and
difficult" on logistics and protocol issues, alienating the
other participants. "On the surface, and in front of cameras,
the Chinese are friendly. But underneath, they are putting
huge pressure on Southeast Asian countries and trying to
divide them," xxxx said.

BEIJING 00000383 002 OF 004

6. (C)
The PRC had been increasingly assertive in its interactions
with Indonesia in recent years, but there had not been any
recent spike in diplomatic pressure, Indonesian Embassy xxxx
told PolOffs February 8. xxxx noted past PRC objections to
proposed visits of the Dalai Lama and the transit of Taiwan
President Chen Shui-bian as well as the PRC´s strong reaction
to the June 2009 arrest of Chinese fishermen in Indonesia´s
EEZ. During the July 2009 visit of Foreign Minister Hassan
Wirajuda, PRC officials had insisted that the sailors had been
fishing in "historical fishing grounds" and had reiterated
extensive PRC claims in the South China Sea by declaring to
the Indonesians: "We have a border." Most recently, however,
xxxx said, relations had been better in the run-up to State
Councilor Dai Bingguo´s January 2010 visit to Indonesia.

7. (C)
Norwegian Embassy xxxx told PolOff February 9 that Oslo was
unhappy with the trend of its relations with China. Norway was
proud of its human rights dialogue with China, but there had
been no results in 2009 and China had downgraded its
representation at the December 2009 round from Vice Foreign
Minister to Deputy Director General. Though the Chinese had
taken pains to call the downgrade "not precedent-setting,"
Oslo had been disappointed, and that disappointment had been
compounded when the Chinese sentenced democracy activist Liu
Xiaobo to 11 years in prison December 25. Liu had studied in
Oslo in the 1990s and so had a "direct connection to Norway,"
xxxx explained.

Domestic Criticism and a Change of Course 
-----------------------------------------

8. (C)
Not all Chinese foreign policy experts are comfortable with
the new PRC approach. xxxx, xxxx at Beijing News (Xinjing
Bao), told PolOff February 3 that "China´s more aggressive
defense of its interests abroad is new; this is a change in
how China presents itself abroad." He acknowledged that this
stance was popular with the Chinese public, but wondered aloud
whether the policy had been "thought through completely." He
worried that Chinese people would be disappointed if China´s
more aggressive stance backfired and caused China to lose
face. He compared China´s aggressive treatment of foreign
concerns, such as the decision to execute British citizen
Ahmed Sheikh in December despite public appeals for clemency
from UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with the public praise
the Chinese government had given the Chinese navy in 2009.
"When China could not take any action against U.S. "spy ships"
(in the USNS Impeccable incident in March 2009) and newspapers
showed Chinese fishing boats arrayed against the U.S. Navy,
Chinese people had questioned where was their navy, and they
were disappointed." If China were to experience diplomatic
setbacks, xxxx argued, the people would again feel that the
government had overstated its strength relative to other
states and exposed China to humiliation. For this reason, he
said, China was changing its diplomatic tune and re-focusing
on Hu Jintao´s "harmonious world" concept. For evidence, he
pointed to Vice Premier Li Keqiang´s January 28 Davos speech
which he said demonstrated a consensus Chinese leadership
position that China should play a more cooperative role in
international institutions and emphasized China´s support for
the existing system.

9. (C)
(NOTE: Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who is slated to take over one
of China´s leadership positions in 2012-13, gave a speech at
the World Economic Forum in Davos January 28 that stressed the
importance of collaborative efforts to solve global problems,
emphasized twice that "we are in the same boat" (the same
metaphor the Secretary used in her public remarks in Beijing
in February 2009), and reiterated that China relied on a
stable international situation so that it could concentrate on
its own internal development challenges. Though there were a
couple of digs at the United States, such as a call for "a
suitable degree of responsibility and constraint on global
reserve currency issuers," the criticism was subtle compared
to Chinese public statements in other international forums,
such as the EU Summit.)

10. (C)
xxxx at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences, was withering in her criticism of
populist/nationalistic media that exaggerated China´s strength
and influence in the world. Specifically citing the Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao, Chinese edition), she told PolOff
February 3 that the media was "deliberately misleading the
public to sell more newspapers." She said that the Global
Times and similar publications were guilty of
"ultra-nationalism" and "overstating Chinese capabilities."
The "powerful China" theme, she said, was dangerous and wrong.
"These newspapers, and the people, need to sober up a bit and
realize the reality of China´s position. China and the West
are not on the same level, and we are not in the same stage of
development." This inequality made China´s relations with the
West very complicated, she said, and simplistic nationalism in
the press made it very hard for China to show the necessary
flexibility and creativity in its foreign affairs.

11. (C)
In a February 9 discussion with PolOff, Beijing University
xxxx defended the Global Times´ more "hawkish" editorial slant
as "consistent with the demands of the readers and normal for
a market-driven newspaper." He agreed that China´s leaders
wanted to refocus on the "biding one´s time and concealing
one´s capability" (taoguang yanghui) policy, even though it
was not popular with the Chinese public. xxxx said he had
heard in a February 8 Global Times internal editorial meeting
(which he attended as a frequent contributor to the op-ed
pages) that Vice Premier Li had not wanted to make the Davos
speech because he had felt it would be seen by Chinese
audiences as insufficiently muscular. President Hu Jintao and
Premier Wen Jiabao, however, had insisted that he do it
because of his role as "a leading figure on the economy."
(NOTE: "Biding one´s time and hiding one´s capabilities"
(taoguang yanghui) is a phrase attributed to former paramount
leader Deng Xiaoping that suggests China should go along with
the global status quo while developing its society and
economy.)

12. (C)
xxxx added that the text of Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi´s
speech at the Munich Security Conference February 5 had been
"totally uninteresting" and had been designed to be
indistinguishable from the Li Keqiang speech. However, he
said, according to a People´s Daily reporter who had been
there (and who was also at the February 8 Global Times
editorial meeting), Yang had been "flustered" by Taiwan arms
sale-related questions during the Q-and-A session and reverted
to his "strong China" message, which became the basis for
Western media reports of his "blunt" remarks. "He was not
supposed to say that," xxxx asserted.

Public, Global Times, Love the New China 
----------------------------------------

13. (C)
xxxx of the Global Times´ English-language edition and a
former reporter and editor of People´s Daily, told PolOff
February 9 that Chinese people were increasingly seeking to
express opinions to the government on foreign affairs, and
their primary outlets were online and through the media, which
"reflects popular opinion." He acknowledged that the
government and the Communist Party influenced what got
reported in the Chinese press, but claimed the pressure was
not heavy-handed. "Instead of telling us what to say, they
instead guide us by saying ´more of this´ or ´less of that,´"
xxxx said. He drew a distinction between papers of record,
such as People´s Daily, which existed to promulgate the
Party´s position on issues, and "market-driven" media like
Global Times, which "must reflect public opinion to make
money." Global Times, he said, listened to its readers and
therefore advocated an editorial line that "demands
international respect" for China. China´s foreign policy
tilted toward assertiveness in 2009, xxxx acknowledged, but he
cautioned that this "new trend" might not continue. "Biding
our time and hiding our capabilities" was not satisfying to
the Chinese public (or the People´s Liberation Army), xxxx
said, but the government felt it necessary to achieve China´s
domestic goals.

14. (C)
Global Times xxxx told PDOff February 9 that the paper was
willing to publish different views and was actively seeking
opportunities to interview U.S. government officials. xxxx
felt the current strong Chinese rhetoric was in reaction to
netizen anger at U.S. arms sales, but that Global Times could
present both sides. The paper´s Chinese- and English-language
editions ran an opinion piece by the Ambassador February 11
noting the importance of U.S.-China relations and explaining
how U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have maintained stability across
the Strait (creating a better, stronger and more confident
cross-Strait dynamic) for the past 30 years.

15. (C)
Professor xxxx of the Central Party School´s Institute for
International Strategic Studies acknowledged that the
editorial line of Global Times made it very popular among
common people and leaders. "I read Global Times every day," he
told PolOff February 3. In this respect, Global Times appears
to sometimes outshine its parent organization, the flagship
newspaper of the Communist Party, People´s Daily. When asked
February 3 about a nuanced, full-page analysis of U.S.-China
relations published January 19 in People´s Daily that called
for restraint in addressing the "inevitable" bilateral
frictions in the relationship that would come up in 2010, four
of Beijing´s top experts in U.S.-China affairs (including
Professor xxxx and the ubiquitous commentator xxxx of Renmin
University) confessed they were unaware of it.

Watch China´s Actions, Not Words 
--------------------------------

16. (C)
Global Times xxxx advised PolOff "not to be concerned" about
the aggressive tone in China´s interaction with the West,
including in recent commentary about the U.S.-China
relationship. The Chinese government had a clear vision of
China´s interests, xxxx said, and it was most important to
maintain a "favorable foreign policy environment" for the
government to pursue pressing economic and social development
goals at home. A good relationship with the United States was
essential, a view he had heard recently expressed by Chinese
officials. China´s statements criticizing the United States on
the Google case, Internet freedom, Taiwan arms sales and the
President´s planned meeting with the Dalai Lama were all
"necessary to satisfy the Chinese people," but China´s actions
in 2010 would be aimed at preserving China´s relationships
with the rest of the world. Quoting a Chinese phrase used to
describe Deng Xiaoping´s strategy for mollifying ideological
Communists with socialist rhetoric while pursuing capitalist
economic reforms, xxxx said we should expect China in its 2010
foreign policy to "put on the left turn signal in order to
turn right."

HUNTSMAN 
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