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R 160933Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 014660 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB, R, EAP/CM, EAP/PD, DRL 
STATE PASS USTR - STRATFORD, CELICO 
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, DAS LEVINE 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD EINV CH
SUBJECT: Guangzhou Economic Officers Inter-Consulate Dinner 
 
(U) THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE 
PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.  NOT FOR RELEASE OUTSIDE U.S. 
GOVERNMENT CHANNELS.  NOT FOR INTERNET PUBLICATION. 
 
A) 04 GUANGZHOU 37287 (notal); B) 05 GUANGZHOU 02787 
(notal); C) 05 GUANGZHOU 012792 (notal) 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT:  Econoffs met with diplomats 
from other Guangzhou-based consulates to discuss a wide- 
range of South China economic issues.  The meeting was the 
fourth meeting of the ongoing inter-consulate discussion 
group, which at best is held periodically; the last meeting 
was held in May 2005.  The dinner attracted nine diplomats - 
- several of whom attended for the first time -- and the 
topics covered ranged from upcoming high-level visits to 
intellectual property violations, to dealing with local 
foreign affairs officials.  The meetings continue to be a 
valuable way to informally exchange information and share 
insights into the business environment in South China.  The 
respectable turnout, on a rainy night just after the long 
May First holiday, indicates that the entire consular 
community finds the meetings useful as well.  END SUMMARY 
AND COMMENT. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Econoffs joined our Australian host Christopher 
Green, Vice Consul, Australian Consulate at a roundtable 
dinner, along with: 
 
Matthew Moody, Consul, Political and Economic Affairs, 
British Consulate; 
 
Giovanni Russo, Economic, Financial, and Commercial Attache, 
Italian Consulate; 
 
Dr. Robert Weber, Deputy Consul General, German Consulate; 
and 
 
Mona Ip, Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner, Canadian 
Consulate. 
 
Several other invited guests were unable to attend due to 
scheduling conflicts. 
 
Australians Busy Preparing for a High-Level Visitor 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Green began the meeting by noting that his 
consulate was very busy of late preparing for an upcoming 
visit by Australian Prime Minister John Howard to Shenzhen. 
While Green did not elaborate or comment on the agenda for 
Howard's visit, he did note that Australia and China 
continue to negotiate the details of a free trade agreement 
(FTA).  (Note:  The Australia-China FTA negotiations were a 
major theme of the visit to Australia 1-4 April 2006 by 
Premier Wen Jiabao, Chairman Ma Kaito, and Minister Bo 
Xilai, according to the Australian Department of Foreign 
Affairs and Trade webpage.  The next FTA negotiating round 
between Australia and China -- the fifth such round -- is 
scheduled to take place in Beijing from 22-25 May, according 
to the same website.  End Note.) 
 
Reviewing the Recent High-Level Visit to the U.S. 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶4. (SBU) On the topic of high-level visits, Green turned the 
discussion to the recent visit to the United States by 
President Hu Jintao.  Green commented that he had heard 
rumors that the Chinese Ambassador to Washington was going 
to be recalled and the Chinese Foreign Minister being 
replaced because of various incidents that occurred during 
the visit -- which the Chinese viewed as mistakes affecting 
Hu's prestige.  Several members of the group commented that 
 
GUANGZHOU 00014660  002 OF 003 
 
 
they had heard similar rumors, but no one could provide any 
new information beyond that statement.  The group noted that 
while these rumors were circulating worldwide, they were not 
been reported in the Chinese press, and they speculated that 
this was because the Chinese government did not want the 
Chinese general public to view Hu's trip to the U.S. as 
anything but a complete success. 
 
What Color is Your "Berry"?  IP Problems Persist for All 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) The group also discussed the topic that inevitably 
comes up in such meetings -- problems with intellectual 
property (IP) violations.  Ip noted that she has been 
spending a lot of time working on a problem involving the 
popular "Blackberry" wireless handheld device.  (Note: 
Canadian company Research In Motion Limited, founded in 1984 
and based in Waterloo, counts the Blackberry among its 
product line.  End Note.)  Ip explained that the Blackberry 
is being copied and sold in China as the "Redberry" an 
obvious infringement of the Blackberry, in her opinion.  Ip 
noted her frustration that, in her experience, people 
violating products the Chinese are concerned about -- such 
as the official Beijing Olympic mascots -- are quickly 
clamped down on, while people copying products such as the 
Blackberry, which the Chinese government does not have an 
interest in, are often basically left alone. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Weber noted that the Germans have begun to focus 
some of their IP efforts on educating Chinese companies 
about the damage IP violations do to their own bottom line. 
Econoff mentioned that we have been employing this strategy, 
among others, as well, including during an IP conference 
last fall during which several major Chinese companies 
participated and shared their own IP violation experiences. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Russo mentioned China's promise to sell only 
computers with legal software already pre-installed, to 
prevent the pirating of software.  He commented that, while 
this is a very positive step forward, in his experience this 
meant that a foreigner buying a computer in China would have 
problems using the software because it is all in Chinese. 
Because the consumer theoretically cannot pick out his or 
her own software to install anymore, this could be a problem 
for the small amount of English-speaking customers for these 
products. 
 
Dealing With the Foreign Affairs Office 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The group also discussed the difficulties we all 
encounter at times because of the requirement that we work 
through the Guangdong Foreign Affairs Office (FAO), an 
office that is often less than cooperative, to schedule our 
activities in South China.  Moody shared with the group that 
he had recently attended a lunch with the FAO during which 
officials from the British consulate reviewed a laundry list 
of problems they had experienced in dealing with the FAO. 
Moody said that in return, the FAO had shared its own list 
of complaints about dealing with the British Consulate. 
While Moody did not elaborate on what exactly was said at 
the meeting, he noted that after airing all their respective 
grievances and gaining a better perspective on where the 
other side stands, cooperation between the FAO and the 
British Consulate has improved greatly.  (Note:  Before the 
May holiday, we requested an informal "get to know you" 
lunch with our FAO counterparts, but because of the upcoming 
holiday and resulting scheduling conflicts, they were unable 
to attend.  We hope to reschedule the lunch in the near 
future.  End note.) 
 
Koala Diplomacy? 
 
GUANGZHOU 00014660  003 OF 003 
 
 
---------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Green also mentioned that Australia had sent six 
koalas from Australia to Guangzhou last month and that his 
consulate had been involved in some of the events 
surrounding the opening of a koala exhibit at the Wild 
Animal Zoo in Guangzhou.  Green commented that unlike the 
Chinese practice of "renting" out its pandas, Australia will 
not be charging China for use of the koalas, but his country 
will retain ownership of the animals and any offspring they 
may produce.  Guangzhou's Xiangjiang Wild Animal Zoo is 
reportedly currently building a koala exhibit, which will 
cost more than 10 million RMB (roughly USD 1.25 million) and 
it will plant 400 hectares (roughly 990 acres) of eucalyptus 
trees to provide food for the animals, according to Hong 
Kong press reports. 
 
ROCK