VZCZCXRO4931
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #0612 0690941
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100941Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2780
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS BEIJING 000612 
 
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: DIAOYU ISLAND, CHINA'S DIPLOMACY, FINANCIAL 
CRISIS 
 
-------------------- 
  Editorial Quotes 
-------------------- 
 
¶1. DIAOYU ISLAND 
 
"Diaoyu Island issue, why is the U.S. ambiguous on this issue?" 
 
The China Radio International sponsored newspaper World News Journal 
(Shijie Xinwenbao)(03/09): "For the U.S. government, their ambiguity 
on Diaoyu Island is in their own interests. But now, the U.S. 
government is in deep trouble with the war in Afghanistan and Iraq 
as well as in financial trouble, so it is relying heavily on both 
China and Japan. Therefore, the U.S. cannot afford the risk involved 
in taking a stand in the Diaoyu Island issue. If the trouble gets 
worse, the U.S. will find a new foothold in East Asian politics. 
This will be one of their cards, should Japan seek independence, or 
if there is any friction in the China-U.S. relationship. Alarmingly, 
although the U.S. is diplomatically ambiguous to the issue, it is 
prepared militarily to take a stand." 
 
¶2. CHINA'S DIPLOMACY 
 
a. "Chinese diplomacy doesn't have to be high profile" 
 
The official Communist Party international news publication Global 
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(03/09): "Chinese diplomacy needs to focus on 
self instead of focusing on others needs or following in others 
footsteps. The foundation of Chinese diplomacy needs to be based on 
their current national strategy. China's influence is only limited 
to Asia, especially Eastern, Southern and Central Asia. China's 
culture, philosophy and tradition don't have the nature of 
expansion. The nature will not change in the future. Most countries' 
national strategy will focus on domestic affairs. Most of the time, 
diplomacy and the outside world are less important than economic 
development, national security and the improvement of living 
standards within China." 
 
b. "For China: Don't think that because you are getting 'stronger 
and stronger' that that alone is a 'cure all'" 
 
The official Communist Party international news publication Global 
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(03/09): "Many people believe that as China 
becomes stronger, issues such as land disputes will be automatically 
resolved. However, this new strength is not a cure all for Chinese's 
frictions with other countries. Such unrealistic hope will cause 
obstacles to building trust between China and other countries to 
form. If we believe that each country will become powerful in its 
own right, then this is just another form of hegemony. It is not 
surprising that the West will be scared and feel threatened by this. 
We have successfully solved the Hong Kong and Macau issues so; 
other, similar issues will be solved through cooperation as well. 
Believing in a 'cure all strength' is still admiring power. But 
justice should not rely on pure power and power can't solve all the 
issues. Sometimes being overly powerful has the opposite effect." 
 
¶3. FINANCIAL CRISIS 
 
"Facing crisis, our focus should be emphasized on strategy not on 
ideology" 
 
The official Communist Party international news publication Global 
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(03/09): "China seems to be the only bright 
color in this bleak time. People are saying that capitalism is not 
working. However, this is not true. The problems that we face today 
are not caused by a single type of ideology. The real problem is 
that, globally, there is excessive productivity and too little 
consumption. Anyone who fully scrutinizes why the financial crisis 
broke out in the U.S. first, will find that there are capitalist and 
socialist elements to the crisis. The economic downturn is not due 
to the failure of capitalism. Socialists elements refer to the fact 
that the U.S. government has established certain regulations to 
ensure low-income people and minorities will be able to get real 
estate loans as well, which has led banks to lower their credit 
evaluations. Even if China is excelling above the rest, it has its 
own problems. For example, the country is overly dependent on 
exports and China should focus on its own development and 
efficiencies. No matter if Washington and Beijing are in agreement, 
if the model leads to prosperity, it is a good model." 
 
PICCUTA