VZCZCXRO2627
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHDF #0050/01 3560954
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220954Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0251
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0001
RUEHDF/AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 0269

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSSELDORF 000050 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV ECON EINV ETRD CH GM
SUBJECT: RUETTGERS LOOKING TO THE EAST AFTER SUCCESSFUL CHINA TRIP 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000050  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  A recent visit to China by North 
Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Minister-President Juergen Ruettgers 
(CDU), the first by a NRW Minister-President since 1988, focused 
on trade, economics, science and cultural matters, but political 
issues, such as the role of the Dalai Lama, were also raised. 
Ruettgers was accompanied by a delegation of approximately 100 
business leaders and scientific experts.  During the visit, the 
Chinese telecommunication and IT conglomerate Huawei announced 
plans to expand its investments in NRW by establishing a 
research and development center in Duesseldorf.  A high-level 
official of the NRW state chancellery described the visit as 
"extremely successful."  NRW's investment arm, NRWInvest, told 
us that, given NRW's transport and logistics infrastructure, the 
goal was to make NRW a jumping-off point for Chinese business in 
Europe.  Publicly, Ruettgers played up the visit, saying that 
NRW has a good chance of becoming the "center for the China 
business in Germany and Europe."  End summary. 
 
 
 
Business, Research Cooperation and the Dalai Lama 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
----------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) Ruettgers' senior foreign policy advisor Herbert Jakoby, 
who was present at all of the M-P's meetings with his Chinese 
interlocutors, told Pol/Econ staff on December 7 that Ruettgers 
was accompanied by an unusually large delegation of around 100. 
The delegation consisted of businessmen from NRW (mostly from 
SMEs), science and education experts, government officials, and 
journalists.  Deputy Minister-President and Innovation Minister 
Andreas Pinkwart (FDP) also participated in the first part of 
the visit, which began in Beijing and continued with meetings in 
Shanghai, Nanjing and Chengdu. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Dejiang, who has 
special responsibilities for economic and financial affairs, was 
Ruettgers' highest ranking interlocutor in Beijing.  The 
conversation was not confined to economic themes.  Zhang raised 
the issue of the Dalai Lama's May 2008 visit to Germany, 
expressing the Chinese government's displeasure over Ruettgers' 
meeting with the Dalai Lama at that time.  (Comment: In fact, it 
was Ruettgers' second meeting with the Dalai Lama.  End Comment) 
  According to Jakoby, this topic came as a complete surprise to 
the delegation, since preparatory meetings with Chinese 
counterparts had given no indication that the Chinese would 
raise the issue.  Countering the criticism, Ruettgers stressed 
that his meeting with the Dalai Lama was in connection with the 
latter's function as a religious leader and did not have a 
political aspect. Ruettgers added that he has never questioned 
the "one-China policy" and would adhere to this position in the 
future as well.  Jakoby noted that Zhang is known as one of 
China's "conservative hardliners." 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Ruettgers and Innovation Minister Pinkwart also met 
with Chinese Science Minister Wan Gang to explore possibilities 
for closer cooperation between Chinese universities and research 
institutions and their counterparts in NRW.  In a speech given 
during a public forum at the Chinese-European Chamber of 
Commerce in Beijing, Ruettgers raised IPR, rule of law and 
competition issues.  The forum was also addressed by Yu Chabing, 
the director of a Chinese think tank and advisor to the Chinese 
government, who, according to Jakoby, showed "remarkable 
openness" in describing China's present problems (pollution, 
corruption, ineffective administration, demographic change, 
developmental differences between rural and urban areas).  For 
Jakoby, Yu's remarks were a sign of "limited pluralism" in 
China, which could no longer be described as a monolithic 
country. 
 
 
 
Focus on Trade and Investment 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In Shanghai, Nanjing and Chengdu, Ruettgers visited 
four subsidiaries of NRW companies and several Chinese companies 
which have invested or are planning to invest in NRW.  Huawei, a 
telecommunication and IT company based in Shanghai, announced 
during the visit that it will expand its European headquarters 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000050  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
in Duesseldorf by establishing a research and developing center 
there, creating several hundred new jobs.  In Nanjing and 
Chengdu, Ruettgers met with the governors of the Jiangsu and 
Sichuan provinces and signed cooperation agreements to further 
develop the partnerships between NRW and these provinces.  At a 
press conference following his return from China, Ruettgers 
expressed satisfaction with the results of his trip, saying that 
NRW has a good chance of becoming the "center of China's 
business in Germany and Europe."  Contacts at NRWInvest 
presented a slightly less lofty -- and perhaps more realistic -- 
goal:  NRW, with its well-developed transport and logistics 
capabilities, as a jumping-off point for China for at least this 
part of Europe. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Ruettgers' trip to China reflects the NRW government's 
determination to continue to reach out to new markets and 
potential investors.  Recognizing China's ascendant role, it 
makes sense for the state -- already a focal point for Japanese 
business, as well as U.S. investment --  to try to draw in as 
much Chinese business as possible.  Their pitch of NRW as a 
state with a well-developed infrastructure is a strong selling 
point.  It makes sense as well for NRW to seek diversity for its 
export-oriented economy.  This latest experience in China is 
something else Ruettgers will have in his pocket when he makes 
his annual trip to the U.S. in February and for state elections 
in May. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
WEINER