VZCZCXRO3741
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGH #0275/01 2050047
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 230047Z JUL 08
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6986
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1974
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 1298
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 1271
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1300
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 1441
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 1109
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 7554

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000275 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, INL-DAVID LUNA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS CH
SUBJECT: CHINA SUMMIT ON ANTI-CORRUPTION 
 
(U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for dissemination 
outside USG channels; not for Internet distribution. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The China Summit on Anti-Corruption, a 
private-sector conference aimed at providing U.S. businesses and 
multi-national companies with information on anti-corruption 
best practices and strategies to comply with the Foreign Corrupt 
Practices Act, took place in Shanghai from July 15 to 16.  The 
conference intended to feature remarks from Chinese government 
officials on anti-corruption.  However, these officials declined 
to attend and most of the exchanges and speeches at the 
conference focused on private-sector efforts to fight 
corruption.  The conference organizer said that officials likely 
did not attend because the conference was taking place during a 
sensitive time right before the Olympics and because this was 
the first time that such a conference was being held in China. 
She believes that there will be more Chinese governmental 
participation at future conferences.  (Comment: While it is 
disappointing that Chinese officials did not attend the 
conference, it is encouraging that Chinese authorities allowed 
the conference to take place during this sensitive time period. 
End Comment.) End Summary. 
 
The China Summit on Anti-Corruption 
----------------------------------- 
¶2.  (U) The American Conference Institute held an 
anti-corruption conference called the "China Summit on 
Anti-Corruption" in Shanghai on July 15-16.  According to 
organizers, this is the first time such a conference has been 
held in China, and they hope to hold the conference on a yearly 
basis in the future.  Around 100 American and Chinese lawyers 
from U.S.-based and multi-national large law firms and 
accounting firms attended the conference.  The conference was 
also sponsored by large firms such as Price Waterhouse Cooper, 
Ernst and Young, and White and Case.   The purpose of the 
conference was to provide information to foreign companies, 
especially American companies, on how to deal with corruption 
issues in China and how to comply with the Foreign Corrupt 
Practices Act (FCPA).  Consulate Rule of Law Coordinator (ROLC) 
also attended the conference. 
 
Where Are the Chinese Officials? 
-------------------------------- 
¶3.   (SBU) Noticeably absent from the conference were Chinese 
officials.  National Bureau of Corruption Prevention Head Ma Wen 
and International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities 
Secretary General Ye Feng were listed as Keynote Speakers in the 
conference materials but did not show up at the conference. 
According to American Conference Institute's Senior Conference 
Director Frederique Duranton, her office had been in contact 
with Ma for six months but was not able to confirm her 
attendance.  Other Chinese officials that were supposed to 
participate in the conference were also no-shows.  Duranton said 
that there could be two reasons for the absence of Chinese 
officials.  First, with the Beijing Olympic Games three weeks 
away, many Chinese officials are cutting down on their public 
appearances to avoid making any mistakes during this sensitive 
time.  Second, this is the first time that this conference has 
been held in China, and Chinese officials are not yet 
comfortable enough with the conference to attend.  Duranton 
believes that there will be more officials at next year's 
conference. 
 
How To Do Business and Avoid Corruption 
--------------------------------------- 
¶4.  (SBU) The conference provided participants with practical 
information on how to deal with corruption issues and how to 
comply with the FCPA in China.  U.S. Department of Justice 
Criminal Division Fraud Section Deputy Chief Mark Mendelsohn 
explained to participants how the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices 
Act (FCPA) is applied abroad.  Clifford Chance partner Warren 
Feldman gave a speech on how to minimize FCPA risks for Chinese 
Companies operating in the United States.  North Asia Motorola 
China Vice President Joseph Yang introduced Motorola's internal 
investigation mechanism for investing questionable payments in 
China and said that Motorola set up a 24-hour hotline for 
reporting misconduct.  Other topics included how to carry out 
due diligence in China, and explanations of the latest 
international monitoring and governance initiatives. 
¶5.  (SBU) The only Chinese speaker in this Conference was Wu Wei 
who is a law partner at King and Wood, a Beijing-based Chinese 
law firm.  She also served as a prosecutor at the China Supreme 
 
SHANGHAI 00000275  002 OF 002 
 
 
People's Procuratorate (SPP) for 10 years.  She said that the 
SPP set up a computer inquiry system last year that searches all 
provincial procuratorate's databases.  This system produces a 
"black name" list of all companies that have been found guilty 
of bribery by Chinese courts.  According to Wu, government 
officials can request information from this system to prevent 
companies from getting government procurement and public 
construction contracts. 
 
Generally Satisfied 
------------------- 
¶6.  (SBU) Despite the absence of Chinese Officials, participants 
with whom ROLC talked said they were pleased with the 
conference.  3M China Ltd. Legal Affair General Counsel June Xue 
felt this Conference was very helpful for the staff of 
multinational companies in meeting the challenges of complying 
with the FCPA in an environment like China in which corruption 
is widespread.  Kohler Asia Pacific Limited Audit Manager 
Charles Li agreed with Xue and said that Kohler will pay more 
attention to internal investigations in relation to 
anti-corruption compliance. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶7.  (SBU) The lack of Chinese government participants at the 
conference is disappointing.  While participants were able to 
get information on best practices to fight corruption, there was 
very little information on Chinese government efforts.  That 
said, we would caution against taking the lack of Chinese 
government attendance as an indication of Beijing's commitment 
to these issues.  In the lead-up to the Olympics, many Chinese 
officials have cut down on their official appearances and there 
are few governmental meetings taking place.  The fact that the 
Chinese government allowed conference organizers to hold the 
conference during this sensitive time period can be seen as an 
indication that it places some importance on anti-corruption 
issues. 
JARRETT