VZCZCXRO7892
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #1023/01 0781136
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 181136Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5910
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 1672
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0379
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3333
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 4298
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 1876
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE PRIORITY 0029

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 001023 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2028 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KOLY SENV SOCI PTER AF CM CH FR
GM, JA, UK 
SUBJECT: BEIJING-BASED G-5 CHIEFS OF MISSION ON JAPAN, 
GOVERNMENT REORG, GERMANY, AIRPORT SECURITY 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Clark T. Randt, Jr.  Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) At the March 14 bi-weekly Beijing-based G-5 Chiefs of 
Mission gathering, Japanese DCM Kunio Umeda said that PRC 
President Hu Jintao's trip to Japan is scheduled for May 6, 
but the poisoned dumpling issue could make the visit 
"difficult."  Participants were unimpressed by the National 
People's Congress's recently announced restructuring of the 
government.  UK DCM Barbara Woodward said that if the 
proposal should fail, blame will probably fall on newly 
selected Politburo Standing Committee member Li Keqiang. 
Participants said that ongoing government changes make 
scheduling visits difficult.  German DCM Aristide Fenster 
described the improvement of Germany's relationship with the 
PRC since Chancellor Merkel's September 2007 meetng with the 
Dalai Lama.  End Summary. 
 
Partcipants 
------------ 
 
¶2. (C) The Ambassadr hosted French Ambassador Herve Ladsous, 
Geran DCM Aristide Fenster, Japanese DCM Kunio Umeda and 
British DCM Barbara Woodward March 14 for the bi-weekly G-5 
gathering of Beijing-based Chiefs of Mission. 
 
Hu Jintao Japan Trip Set, Dumplings May Poison It 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶3. (C) Japanese DCM Umeda reported that PRC President Hu 
Jintao will travel to Japan on May 6 and stay for four 
nights.  FM Yang Jiechi is scheduled to be in Japan April 
14-17 to prepare for the visit.  Umeda said that the issue of 
the poisoned dumplings is "overshadowing" the two countries' 
bilateral relations.  PM Fukuda has instructed Japanese 
authorities to cooperate with China and is concerned that 
public backlash over the dumpling issue in Japan could make 
Hu's visit difficult.  Umeda reported that he has been to the 
Ministry of Public Security twice to discuss the case, but 
that there has been no substantial progress.  China is 
sending investigators to Japan, which will be followed by a 
trip by Japan's investigators to China.  Umeda commented that 
it "looks like China wants to find a way out." 
 
Government Reorganization at the NPC 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Participants said they were unimpressed by the planned 
government restructuring.  Japanese DCM Umeda said there is 
history to consider and the personalities of those in charge 
will greatly influence what will be a very gradual process. 
UK DCM Woodward speculated that if the reorganization turns 
out to be insignificant, recently promoted Politburo Standing 
Committee member Li Keqiang, who heads the reorganization 
effort, would fail his first test.  Such a failure would 
indicate that he does not have the power necessary to 
streamline the government and would hurt him politically. 
 
German High-Level Visits Reflect Thaw 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) German DCM Fenster reported several upcoming 
high-level visits, which reflect an improvement in relations 
since the downturn following German Chancellor Merkel's 
meeting with the Dalai Lama in September 2007.  Minister of 
the Interior Wolfgang Schaeuble will visit April 28-29 and 
will also be in Beijing for the Olympics, along with Federal 
President Horst Kohler.  Chancellor Merkel has not decided 
whether she will attend the Games, but will attend the 
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing in October.  Vice 
Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui will travel to Berlin April 14 
for the Sino-German Strategic Dialogue.  Fenster said that 
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit China 
June 12-14 and Minister for Economics and Technology Michael 
Glos will travel to Beijing and Shanghai April 13-18.  The 
two sides are scheduled to hold a human rights dialogue in 
Munich on March 22.  Finally, Germany will launch a 
German-Chinese cooperative program to provide vocational 
training in Chongqing.  Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai is 
reportedly happy about the training because it aids 
Chongqing's rural population. 
 
 
BEIJING 00001023  002 OF 003 
 
 
French Polls Complicate Visits 
------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) French Ambassador Herve Ladsous said local elections 
in France are complicating plans for upcoming visits because 
there may be personnel "adjustments" after the vote.  For the 
time being, Minister of Culture Christine Albanel is still 
planning to visit April 3, and Secretary of State for 
European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet will visit April 18-19. 
Secretary General for Defense M. Francis Delon is expected to 
 
SIPDIS 
discuss strategic planning with the PRC Ministries of Defense 
and Foreign Affairs during a visit in early April.  Former 
French Presidents ValeryQiscard d'Estaing and Jacques Chirac 
and former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will visit 
China the week of April 21.  Chirac is expected to give a 
speech on global issues and the preservation of cultural 
identity.  Ambassador Ladsous said that Chirac's first major 
speech since leaving office will be "important."  French 
Minister of Finance Christine Lagarde will come to China for 
an economic dialogue in May, and in June Diplomatic Advisor 
to the President Jean-David Levitte will arrive for a 
strategic dialogue, Ladsous said.  The dialogue's working 
groups are expected to cover the UN, Africa, Latin America, 
strategic affairs and terrorism. 
 
UK Visits 
--------- 
 
¶7. (C) Former PM Tony Blair will travel to China to discuss 
climate change with Premier Wen Jiabao; however, it is still 
unclear if the National Development and Reform Commission 
will take the lead or if responsibility will pass to the new 
Environmental Protection Ministry.  DCM Woodward believes 
that the PRC counterpart for Chancellor of the Exchequer 
Alistair Darling's April Economic Dialogue will be 
newly-selected Vice Premier Wang Qishan, but that is not yet 
confirmed.  The dialogue is expected to cover trade, 
development and financial services, among other topics.  UK 
Foreign Minister Miliband was "so taken with China" after his 
trip that he is encouraging more high-level UK officials to 
visit, including a planned trip of the UK Ambassadors to 
other P-5 nations at the end of April, Woodward said. 
 
Counterterrorism and Kerosene 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) The participants lamented the lack of information on a 
recent alleged terrorist incident in Gansu Province in which 
a young ethnic Uighur woman is reported to have tried to 
cause an explosion on an airplane with a bottle of kerosene. 
UK DCM Woodward said that on March 13 a Sichuanese 
entertainer hired by a British company arrived at London's 
Heathrow airport from China.  Before leaving the airport he 
asked his hosts if they would like to see his flame throwing 
act, at which point he produced a bottle of kerosene from his 
suitcase.  The story has been a caused renewed concern for 
transportation authorities in the UK. 
 
Health Issues 
------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Japanese DCM Umeda said that he understood that (with 
the exception of one case) the PRC Ministry of Health does 
not check for avian influenza infection until after a patient 
has died.  (NOTE:  Post's CDC Resident Advisor reports that 
due to financial concerns and the unspecific early symptoms, 
patients in China are not usually tested for avian influenza 
until the symptoms are quite severe and that the patient 
often does not survive the lengthy testing and confirmation 
process, thus leading to the possible conclusion that a 
diagnosis prior to death is rare.)  A doctor at the 
HKU-Pasteur Research Center in Hong Kong reported to 
Ambassador Ladsous that he does not believe that the current 
outbreak in Hong Kong of what he called the "Brisbane" flu is 
dangerous. 
 
Olympics Hotline 
---------------- 
 
¶10. (C) UK DCM Woodward mentioned that during recent consular 
discussions with China on a "hotline" for the Olympics, it 
became apparent that the "hotline" is currently nothing more 
than "one man on a cell phone." 
 
 
BEIJING 00001023  003 OF 003 
 
 
Diplomatic Moves 
---------------- 
 
¶11. (C) German DCM Fenster announced that he has been 
nominated to be Germany's new ambassador to Afghanistan. 
Cameroon's ambassador to the PRC, Eleih-elle Etian, who has 
served at his post for well over twenty years, will be 
leaving soon and will be replaced by a former Minister of 
External Relations. 
RANDT