VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBJ #2340 2250934
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130934Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5639
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS BEIJING 002340 
 
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: PREL ECON KMDR OPRC CH
 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: RIO TINTO, U.S.-CHINA TIRE TRADE, U.S. 
COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY 
 
-------------------- 
  Editorial Quotes 
-------------------- 
 
¶1.  RIO TINTO 
 
"Enlightenment seen in shift from 'espionage' to 'crime' in Rio 
Tinto case" 
 
Guangdong 21st Century Publishing Company's business newspaper 21st 
Century Business Herald (21 Shiji Jingji Baodao)(08/13): "Chinese 
authorities have backed down from accusing four Rio Tinto executives 
of 'espionage,' emphasizing instead that the charges involve 
'stealing commercial secrets.'  China's decision to drop allegations 
of 'stealing state secrets' is a very wise shift.  However, it did 
make sense for China to initially consider the price of iron ore as 
a state secret because the iron and steel industry is of national 
importance and most of China's steel giants are state owned. 
Nevertheless, negotiation over iron ore prices is a business 
activity, and therefore the allegation of 'espionage' does not 
apply." 
 
¶2.  U.S.-CHINA TIRE TRADE 
 
"Is the world able to sanction the U.S.?" 
 
The official Communist Party international news publication Global 
Times (Huanqiu Shibao) (08/13): "(In discussing the U.S.-China tire 
trade issue,) Zhang Shengjun, Vice Dean at Beijing Normal 
University's School of Political Science and International Studies, 
said the Obama Administration is neglecting its international 
responsibility by only serving American interests groups.  The U.S. 
should be held accountable for mistakes it made that caused the 
financial crisis.  In order to gain support from developing 
countries, the U.S. should apologize to them and take measures to 
demonstrate its sincerity.  Another Chinese expert argued that the 
U.S. cannot be sanctioned because poor cannot easily sanction rich 
countries.  Even if a few countries unite together to impose 
sanctions against the U.S., it will not have the same effect as the 
U.S.'s sanctions against other countries.  Thus, the call to 
sanction America will eventually fade away. " 
 
¶3.  U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY 
 
"New U.S. counterterrorism strategy more flexible" 
 
The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao) (08/13): 
"Obama's top national security and counterterrorism adviser, John 
Brennan, outlined the Obama Administration's counterterrorism 
strategy.  This is a new approach that is more flexible than the 
'global war on terror' since it recognizes and seeks to address the 
root causes of terrorism, such as poverty, corruption, and 
illiteracy, which provide a fertile ground for the growth of violent 
extremism.  In the short term, as demonstrated by its actions in 
Pakistan and Afghanistan, military attack will remain the U.S.'s 
primary method of combating terrorism.  This new approach is more 
practical but facing many challenges, one of them being the pressure 
right-wing groups in the U.S. will bring to bear on Obama to change 
this strategy if more and more soldiers die.  The concept of 
promoting American democracy through counterterrorism is still 
embedded in the new strategy because 'smart power' can also include 
democratic transformation or color revolutions." 
 
 
GOLDBERG