VZCZCXRO7262
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #4550 3510917
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160917Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1411
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS BEIJING 004550 
 
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: OPRC KMDR CH
 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS, U.S. ELECTION, IRAQ 
 
-------------------- 
  Editorial Quotes 
-------------------- 
 
¶1. U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS 
 
"The trap in the 'U.S.-China marriage'" 
 
The official Communist Party international news publication Global 
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(12/16): "American scholars have brought up 
two new concepts, the 'G2', the U.S.-China two-country group and 
'Chimerica.' These concepts are like 'U.S.-China marriage theory' 
which shows that China could have an equal position with the U.S. 
However, this concept actually speaks about how to include China, an 
alien to the international economy, in the system. It is not talking 
about the global economic model. This concept is in fact another 
version of the 'China threat theory' and an alternative way to deal 
with China's threat. There has already been strategic dialogue 
between the U.S. and China to promote U.S.-China economic 
cooperation, why then, are the G2 and Chimerica concepts needed? In 
the G2, the two sides would reflect the power in the World, 
represented by the U.S. and China. Thus no matter the G2 or the 
Chimerica, both are systems subtly designed for the benefit of the 
U.S. With China's strength at present, it will be incapable of 
making any influence in an arrangement like the G2. What's more, the 
world's trend is going towards multilateralism, not polarization. 
The appearance of this type of concept reflects the rapid growth of 
the Chinese economy and the fact that the international society 
needs to begin to consider China. There is still a long road ahead 
in order for China to gain an equal position to the U.S." 
 
¶2. U.S. ELECTION 
 
"U.S. election follows the customs of old" 
 
The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao) (12/16): 
"The U.S. presidential election did not end on November 4th. There 
was a voting of Elector groups that voted on December 15th. Although 
this is a meaningless vote, according to the American constitution, 
all Elector groups must be processed for the election to be 
effective. The process reveals the flaws of American style 
democracy. First, in 2000, although Gore had gained the majority of 
the votes in the national vote, and Bush had won in the Elector 
votes, Bush won overall. The Elector groups' votes would make 
regular votes valueless; second, this system causes the votes of 
voters in different states to appear unequal in value, because some 
medium and small sized states would influence the final result more 
than others. Thirdly, the U.S. states are divided into Red and Blue 
categories. In the State of Alabama, Obama won 40% of the votes, but 
he can't actually own the state because McCain won the majority of 
the votes in the State. People should be clued in to the flaws of 
the U.S.'s voting politics." 
 
¶3. Iraq 
 
"While in Iraq, Bush is attacked by a man throwing shoes" 
 
The official Communist Party international news publication Global 
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(12/16): "Throwing shoes at a person is the 
most insulting thing one can do in the Middle Eastern country of 
Iraq. Bush has made great efforts to down play the influence of the 
event. He has expressed that he was not insulted by the incident. 
Bush had planned to add merit to his political achievements by 
visiting Iraq before his administration ends. However, this issue 
with the shoes and the following protests asking for the thrower's 
release from prison has shown how different the two sides feel about 
the war. Iraqis took to the streets and cheered the thrower as a 
'national hero.'" 
 
PICCUTA