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INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
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RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0699
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1107

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 000696 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
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STATE PLEASE PASS TO NASA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ETRD EFIN KIPR CH
SUBJECT: NPC CHAIRMAN WU BANGGUO DISCUSSES PROMOTING 
BILATERAL TIES WITH U.S.-CHINA WORKING GROUP MEMBERS 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Congressional U.S.-China Working Group 
Representatives Mark Kirk, Rick Larsen and Tom Feeney 
discussed bilateral relations, Taiwan and economic 
issues with National People's Congress Chairman Wu 
Bangguo on January 10 at the Great Hall of the People. 
Representative Kirk outlined the Working Group's 
mission and specific initiatives, noting that it hoped 
to move bilateral relations forward through tangible 
cooperation and frank discussion.  Representative 
Feeney asked about China's plans for improved IPR 
protection.  Wu emphasized China's focus on 
maintaining stable cooperative relations with the 
United States, outlined lingering concerns over Taiwan 
and cited Chinese improvement in IPR protection, but 
said it would require a gradual process.  He noted 
China's willingness to cooperate on issues of U.S. 
concern including non-proliferation, the DPRK and 
Iranian nuclear issues.  China opposes Iran having a 
nuclear weapons program.  In response to 
Representative Larsen's question about China's 
internal development, Wu said China is pursuing 
scientific development in order to change its growth 
model and address imbalances that have emerged from 
the rapid development of recent years.  Wu encouraged 
continued and deepening cooperation and exchanges 
between the NPC and the U.S. Congress.  End Summary. 
 
Focus on U.S.-China Relations 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) National People's Congress (NPC) Chairman Wu 
Bangguo welcomed members of the House of 
Representatives U.S.-China Working Group and cited 
appreciation for their active work since he met with 
them in New York in September 2005.  Representative 
Mark Kirk cited the Working Group's goal of making the 
U.S.-China relationship a top priority in Congress. 
Representative Rick Larsen described the Working 
Group's activities, noting a focus on maintaining 
bipartisan support for the relationship, educating 
Members about U.S.-China issues and maintaining a 
frank and open dialogue with Chinese counterparts 
about ways to move forward, both on areas of common 
interest and areas where we have differences.  Noting 
that the U.S.-China relationship would be the most 
important of the 21st century, Representative Tom 
Feeney welcomed China's efforts to strengthen 
relations with the United States and particularly with 
the U.S. Congress. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Wu responded to Representative Kirk's 
question about Chinese views on a successful Summit 
meeting in Washington in April by stressing the 
importance of stable U.S.-China relations for China's 
overall development.  A hallmark of such stable 
relations is the continuing dialogue between the top 
leaders of the United States and China.  President 
Bush and President Hu met five times in 2005 and China 
is very much looking forward to a successful Summit in 
¶2006.  While it is not strange that the United States 
and China have differences, common interests far 
outweigh those differences.  The differences should 
not be politicized or be allowed to stand in the way 
of improving ties. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Wu expressed appreciation for the need for 
China to be engaged with Members of Congress directly. 
China follows the U.S. political system closely, but 
there are many voices in Congress and often media 
reports are incorrect.  The NPC has established 
exchange mechanisms with both Houses of Congress and 
the Working Group's efforts have been important in 
furthering exchanges and communication.  In 2005, the 
NPC hosted 98 Congressional Members, Wu said, noting 
that he hopes more Members will come in the future, 
contributing to improved communication and a calmer 
approach to the relationship. 
 
More Relaxed in Taiwan but Concern Remains 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) As to China's hopes for the Summit, Wu said 
 
BEIJING 00000696  002 OF 004 
 
 
it was difficult to answer directly.  China hopes to 
maintain the momentum of meetings between President 
Bush and President Hu.  Each side should give due 
consideration to the other's concerns and Taiwan 
remains China's biggest concern.  The cross-Strait 
situation has developed in a more relaxed way 
recently. The Chinese Government took a two-part 
approach to cross-Strait relations in 2005.  The first 
part was passage of the anti-secession law while the 
second was to promote exchanges with Taiwan's 
opposition Party leaders.  Wu noted that there has 
been a change in popular will in Taiwan that shows a 
shift away from support for Taiwan independence, as 
evidenced in the results of the December mayoral 
elections. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) China remains concerned, however, as the 
root cause of cross-Strait tensions has not yet been 
eliminated.  Chen Shui-bian stated in his New Year 
speech that Taiwan is an independent country whose 
prospects will not be decided by the 1.3 billion 
people in China, but by the 23 million people on 
Taiwan.  He reiterated his determination to complete 
his constitutional reengineering agenda by 2008, which 
means there will be no tranquility in the Taiwan 
Strait.  While the Mainland is trying to promote 
closer ties, Chen put forward measures to create more 
obstacles, Wu stated.  The most important issue is to 
oppose and contain Taiwan independence, an issue on 
which the United States and China share common 
interests. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Reiterating China's hopes to hold an in- 
depth dialogue on mutual concerns, Wu said that China 
attaches importance to the same issues as the United 
States.  The United States and China have good 
cooperation on counterterrorism, non-proliferation, 
the DPRK nuclear issue, the issue of Iran's nuclear 
weapons and UN reform.  China agrees with the United 
States and the European Union that Iran should not 
have a nuclear weapons program, Wu said.  China gives 
full consideration to U.S. concerns in these areas and 
also attaches importance to economic issues such as 
the exchange rate, the trade deficit and IPR 
protection. 
 
China's Internal Development 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Representative Larsen asked about 
developments inside China and how the government plans 
to deal with challenges in rural areas including 
unbalanced development.  Wu said that while China has 
grown rapidly since 1978 to become the sixth largest 
economy in the world, problems have now emerged with 
China's development model.  This is being addressed by 
President Hu Jintao and the central leadership through 
a new focus on "scientific development" and a 
"harmonious society," Wu stated.  During its visits to 
Gansu province and Shanghai, the delegation will have 
an opportunity to see firsthand the extreme 
discrepancy in development. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) China's capital-intensive growth model must 
also be changed, Wu stated.  Only 3.9 percent of 
China's growth can be attributed to technological and 
scientific contributions whereas the same figure in 
the United States is 70 percent, Wu said.  The Chinese 
leadership just held a national conference on science 
and technology where it put forward a program of S&T 
development up until 2020.  In the future, China must 
pay more attention to the quality, structure and 
efficiency of its economic growth. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Wu told the Members that the Chinese 
leadership is all too aware of China's problems. 
Urban areas need to create 10 million jobs a year, 24 
million people will be looking for jobs each year, 60 
million disabled people need to be taken care of and 
26 million people in rural areas live on less than 
fifty cents a day.  While the most discussed problem 
of rural areas used to be how to improve agriculture, 
now China needs a coordinated plan for the development 
of rural and urban areas simultaneously.  The 
leadership is working collectively on all these 
 
BEIJING 00000696  003 OF 004 
 
 
problems. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Taking a moment to address concerns about a 
China threat, Wu said that China's development will be 
continuous and irreversible.  However, both China and 
India have played a constructive role in the world 
economy.  China needs a peaceful international 
environment to pursue its development, which requires 
favorable relations with other countries, particularly 
the United States.  This is why China emphasizes 
cooperation and solving problems.  As EVFM Dai told 
Deputy Scretary Zoellick, China is not the former 
Sovit Union.  It will not pursue an arms race or 
xpansionism.  History has proved this road is adead 
end and China's history and cultural background would 
be inconsistent with such a curse.  China has a win- 
win principle in develping relations with other 
countries and the next five years will be an important 
milestone in China's development, including economic, 
political, cultural and social development. 
 
IPR Protection Prospects 
------------------------ 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Representative Feeney noted that while 
there are different views on China in the United 
States, one area where all parties seem to agree is on 
the inadequacy of IPR enforcement in China.  Asked how 
China will go about ensuring that intellectual 
property protection meets international standards, Wu 
said that the importance of protecting intellectual 
property was featured in President Hu's speech at the 
national S&T conference.  China is working to increase 
the proprietary ability of its own companies and 
recognizes the importance of IPR protection for 
enhancing creativity.  China increased IPR 
investigations in 2005 and issued a judicial 
interpretation that lowers the judicial threshold for 
IPR protection.  It created a leadership group led by 
Vice Premier Wu Yi and considered 2,600 IPR court 
cases in 2005.  These efforts are sincere, but many 
people are willing to circumvent the laws for profit 
and a gradual process will be required.  The 
environment will become more and more strict, Wu 
predicted, concluding by appealing for loosening 
restrictions on exports of high-tech products to 
China. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Representative Kirk concluded the meeting 
by reviewing initiatives the Working Group is pursuing 
during its visit, including: 
 
-- joint rescue capabilities in the area of space 
programs, 
 
-- establishment of a telephone hotline between the 
Ministry of Defense and the Defense Department, 
 
-- establishment of the IPR Ombudsman position in the 
Chinese Embassy in Washington (Wu said the Ombudsman 
would take up his duties on January 14), 
 
-- an American professional football exhibition game 
in Shanghai, 
 
-- a cultural exchange marking the Year of China in 
Chicago in 2010, 
 
-- increasing student exchanges, particularly bringing 
American students to China and 
 
-- an international audit of licensed software use by 
Chinese government entities. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Wu offered general support for further 
initiatives and exchanges.  On the issue of legal 
software, he said the Finance Ministry has earmarked 
250 million RMB in 2006 for purchase of legal software 
by local governments.  Representative Kirk praised 
this initiative, but reiterated the importance of a 
reliable audit. 
 
¶15.  (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. Delegation 
 
BEIJING 00000696  004 OF 004 
 
 
--------------- 
Representative Mark Kirk 
Representative Rick Larsen 
Representative Tom Feeney 
DCM David Sedney 
Steve Orlins, President, National Committee on U.S.- 
China Relations 
Richard Goldberg, Co-Staff Director, U.S.-China 
Working Group 
Dr. Yang Hong, Bryant University 
Embassy Control Officer 
Embassy Notetaker 
 
Chinese Delegation 
------------------ 
NPC Chairman Wu Bangguo 
NPC Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Jiang Enzhu 
NPC Foreign Affairs Comm. Vice Chairman Lu Congmin 
DCM Chinese Embassy in Washington Su Ge 
Staff and Interpreter 
 
¶16.  (U) The Delegation has cleared this cable. 
Randt