VZCZCXRO8529
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHSH #0167/01 2602102
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 172102Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL SHENYANG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8842
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0217
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC 0160

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SHENYANG 000167 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/CM 
MOSCOW PASS TO VLADIVOSTOK 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2019 
TAGS: CH ECIN ELTN ETRD KN KS PREL RS
SUBJECT: JILIN TRADE FAIRS: CHINESE SELF-ADULATION, LOCAL 
ECONOMY 
 
Classified By: Consul General Stephen B. Wickman.  Reasons 1.4(b/d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Trade fairs in Northeast China are becoming 
larger productions, with aims beyond mere regional 
cooperation.  The Chinese seem to be moving away from the 
UNDP Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) begun in the early 1990s 
to new China-only regional projects.  Northeast China's main 
trade fair presented international themes, much of which had 
very little to do with Northeast Asia or trade.  Jilin's 
local economy remains stable.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Consul General and ConGenOff participated in 
Northeast China's principal regional trade fair in Changchun 
September 1-3.  Consul General and ConGenOff also traveled 
to the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture August 26-31 to 
participate in a local trade fair. 
 
GTI PASSING: CHANG-JI-TU IS THE NEW WAY TO GO 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Greater Tumen Initiative (formerly known as the 
Tumen River Area Development Programme or TRADP) epitomizes 
much of what previous NE China fairs were comprised of: many 
people making broad proclamations about Northeast Asian 
cooperation while positing regional, multilateral methods of 
developing joint transportation corridors and trade zones 
with little action to move projects forward.  TRADP began in 
1991 with the objective of creating a joint economic zone 
where China, Russia, and the DPRK share a border, but after 
a name change, the addition of Mongolia, and 18 years later, 
the GTI aims merely, according to the UN's website, to 
provide a series of multilateral forums "for the member 
countries to identify and implement regional initiatives 
that encourage economic growth, improve living standards and 
contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia." 
 
¶4. (C) At the September 1 forum, a visiting Russian 
parliamentarian spoke about the need to "focus on reality," 
alluding to the fact that political realities have 
frustrated most of these trans-border efforts.  Later, a 
Chinese municipal executive secretary from Jilin Province 
told us that while the GTI and Tumen River development have 
now been elevated to national-level status, the central 
government has yet to budget any money for these 
initiatives. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The trade fair organizers continued to feature the 
GTI prominently and invited a large UN contingent to attend, 
but Chinese officials seem to be putting their words and 
money towards a separate effort called the Chang-Ji-Tu 
corridor.  Chang-Ji-Tu is shorthand for Changchun-Jilin- 
Tumen, a string of cities from the Jilin provincial capital 
stretching southeast towards China's border with Russia and 
North Korea.  At both the large regional Changchun trade 
fair and much smaller Yanbian trade fair, Chinese officials 
linked the Chang-Ji-Tu corridor with real, actionable 
infrastructure projects. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Already home to Jilin's railway to North Korea and 
a limited-access expressway connecting Changchun with Tumen 
on the PRC-DPRK border, the Chang-Ji-Tu corridor will be 
extended to the PRC-Russia border once the expressway 
reaches Hunchun, the border city linking the three 
countries, at the end of 2010.  The central government is 
also constructing a high-speed rail line from Changchun to 
Tumen, reducing a seven-hour journey two and a half hours. 
Through Chang-Ji-Tu, the Chinese, as opposed to the 
Russians, Mongolians, and North Koreans, are the only 
players in the GTI region making actual long-term 
investments in infrastructure. 
 
YANBIAN ECONOMY: REAL ESTATE WOES, NEW SHIPPING LINES? 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7. (C) In an August 27 meeting with the Consul General, 
Yanji Mayor Zhao Zhexue said the Yanbian Korean Autonomous 
Prefecture's economy was driven by real estate speculation 
fueled by foreign remittances from workers in South Korea, 
Japan, and elsewhere.  Following South Korea's currency 
troubles late last year, the Yanji real estate market had 
experienced a serious slowdown, but Zhao reported the 
economic situation had stabilized. 
 
¶8. (C) Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefectural Governor Li 
Longxi told the Consul General on August 27 that he was 
working closely with Niigata Prefectural leadership in Japan 
to develop shipping lines.  The Niigata Prefectural 
 
SHENYANG 00000167  002 OF 002 
 
 
Government had already contributed some funds to this 
effort, and Governor Li planned on joining the effort with 
his own budget.  He said currently cargo takes 12 or more 
days to reach Niigata from Yanbian or Jilin, but a new route 
through Hunchun and Zarubino would only take two days. 
 
TRADE FAIRS: SHOWCASES FOR CHINESE ADVANCEMENT 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶9. (C) Lengthy presentations in Changchun on South-South 
Cooperation and the occasional anti-U.S. statement this year 
suggested that Northeast Asia economic development was not 
the main focus of Northeast China's largest trade fair. 
One African keynote speaker, for example, engaged in a 
minute-long tirade against Western imperialism, contrasting 
it with the "transparent" and "fair" nature of the Chinese 
presence in Africa today, saying "the West has no right to 
criticize China... the West never compensated Africa for its 
resources... China respects Africa."  A more realistic 
attitude prevailed among the local attendees.  A Chinese 
business contact confided that he was "forced by government 
officials to attend" and that he and his colleagues viewed 
such events as purely vanity affairs that did not help 
businesses. 
 
WICKMAN