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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020916Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7866
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000266 
 
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 SENV KGHG KMDR OPRC CH
 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: ARMS SALES TO TAIWAN 
 
-------------------- 
  Editorial Quotes 
-------------------- 
 
ARMS SALES TO TAIWAN 
 
a. "Let the West get used to 'tough China'" 
 
The People's Daily-sponsored and internationally-focused commercial 
news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(02/02)(pg 14): "China 
will, as always, make full efforts to defend its core interests. 
The West's surprise about China's tough stance (on the Taiwan arms 
sales issue) shows that they have underestimated China's strategic 
determination because they are conceited and ignorant.   The West 
does not have a clear position on China, especially the United 
States.  The United States sometimes treats China as an assumed 
enemy and other times as a partner.  How to understand China and 
define Sino-U.S. relations has become strategically confusing for 
the United States.  They thought that it was sufficient, when 
dealing with China, to play with such an ambiguous strategy.  But 
along with China's growing strength, their use of continuous 
ambiguous, double-sided measures has left a smaller and smaller 
space for the United States.  The United States is bound to suffer 
retaliation because China's two roles in the U.S.'s understanding 
(assumed enemy and partner) have become increasingly incompatible. 
They (the United States) have also underestimated the influence of 
China's public opinion.  With the increasing influence of Chinese 
public opinion on China's foreign strategy; the Chinese public has 
become the Chinese government's firm support behind taking more 
hard-line measures against the United States.  If the United States 
fails to understand the situation, it is impossible for it to 
accurately grasp China's future U.S. policy, and similarly, it is 
unlikely to make the strategic policy concerning China come in line 
with long-term benefits for the U.S.  China's hard-line measures 
against the United States are not unreasonable or anti-Americanism. 
There is a prerequisite for stable Sino-U.S. relations: to let the 
United States know what things are absolutely inviolable and what 
areas can be negotiable. After all, the Chinese also want to enhance 
mutual military trust, trade and political exchanges, but this 
increase must be good for both sides, not just beneficial to the 
U.S.  We must let the entire Western world know that they need to 
adjust their strategy toward China.  In this way the West's 
misjudgment of China will greatly reduce, and they will not regard 
China's act of self-defense as a provocation." 
 
b. "China strongly retaliates over U.S. arms deal with Taiwan"? 
 
The China Radio International sponsored newspaper World News Journal 
(Shijie Xinwenbao)(02/02)(pg 3): "China's countermeasures to protest 
the United States' arms deal with Taiwan have shown China's great 
attention to its core interests.  It is specially worth noting that 
China will impose sanctions on American companies involved in the 
arms deal. This is the first time for China, as a developing 
country, to sanction companies from a developed country.  It shows, 
that in order to protect China's core interests, China will not only 
adopt political and diplomatic measures, but will also take action 
against American companies, who have directly profited from the 
deal.  Imposing sanctions on U.S. companies is probably a more 
effective means of protest than to just (verbally) protest such 
actions by the U.S.  Jin Canrong, a Professor from Renmin 
University, said the United States will gradually increase the cost 
of selling arms to Taiwan until, one fine day, the cost is too big 
for the United States to afford." 
 
c. "'Decryption' of the landing of 'Black Hawk' (regarding Taiwan)" 
 
Guangdong 21st Century Publishing Company Ltd.'s business newspaper 
21st Century Business Herald (21Shiji Jingji Baodao)(02/02)(pg 3): 
"Professor Wu Xinbo, deputy director of the Center for American 
Studies at Fudan University, said that the U.S. Congress has always 
been the base for pro-Taiwan anti-China forces.  Sun Zhe, director 
of the Center for American Studies at Tsinghua University said that 
it is some pro-Taiwan officials in the Obama administration that 
promoted the arms deal.  Since these officials, after the Copenhagen 
summit, speculated that China's support to the United States has 
been insufficient on the Afghanistan or Iran issues, they intend to 
pressure China using the arms sales issue and the Dalai Lama's 
visit.  Wu Xinbo said that Obama chose to submit the arms sales 
proposal earlier this year because he wants to leave sufficient time 
in the rest of the year to repair the damage that the Sino-U.S. 
relationship will have suffered.  'In the next three months, the 
United States may try to eliminate the negative impact of the arms 
sales so as to ensure that China attends the April nuclear summit 
and determine matters relating to President Hu Jintao's visit to the 
United States.'  Wu Xinbo pointed out that this could make 2010 
Sino-U.S. relations go along a (strategic) path where a bad start 
sees a good ending to the year.  However, Sun Zhe said that the 
United States has underestimated the serious impact of its arms 
sales to Taiwan.  It is not easy to repair damages between the 
 
BEIJING 00000266  002 OF 002 
 
 
United States and China within several months.   In 2010, Sino-U.S. 
relations will undergo a U-turn." 
 
HUNTSMAN