VZCZCXRO3293
RR RUEHCN RUEHVC
DE RUEHGH #0477/01 3450616
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110616Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8411
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 9074

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000477 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EIND EINV PREL KIPR CH ETRD SCUL
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S JIANGSU TRIP BUILDS TIES WITH RISING LOCAL 
LEADERS 
 
REF: A. SHANGHAI 472 
     ¶B. SHANGHAI 381 
 
SHANGHAI 00000477  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
(U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet 
publication; not for dissemination outside USG channels. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Ambassador Huntsman's three-city swing through Jiangsu 
province December 2-4 offered the opportunity to meet a crop of 
rising provincial leaders, introduce Consulate Shanghai's new 
officer for Nanjing Affairs, discuss the local business climate, 
promote intellectual property rights protection, speak with 
university students, launch a Wuxi-Utah environmental 
partnership, and re-visit the site where he and Mrs. Huntsman 
adopted their daughter ten years ago. Officials rolled out the 
red carpet at each stop - Nanjing, Yangzhou, and Suzhou - as 
media turned out in force. End Summary. 
 
------------------------------ 
Jiangsu Keen on IPR Protection 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) On December 2, Jiangsu Provincial Party Secretary Liang 
Baohua told Ambassador Huntsman that trade between Jiangsu and 
the U.S. comprises 18 percent of the total U.S.-China trade 
volume, at USD 58.8 billion. Jiang claimed that U.S. companies 
have invested in 9,595 projects in Jiangsu. Moving to 
educational exchange programs, Liang cited the Hopkins Nanjing 
Center as well as joint programs with Yale, University of 
Maryland, SUNY, and MIT. Jiangsu Province sends as many as 60 
government and business leaders for training to the University 
of Maryland and Harvard, he added. Liang and the Ambassador 
discussed the value of educational exchange and the importance 
of American students studying Chinese language. Liang expressed 
his hope that some of the 100,000 American students President 
Obama plans to send for study abroad to China will come to 
Jiangsu. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Liang told the Ambassador he hoped for increased 
collaboration with the U.S. in technology and high-tech 
equipment. He said China turns to other countries for assistance 
with technology because dealing with the United States in this 
area is fraught with difficulty. Citing a recent attempt by the 
Jiangsu government to purchase two helicopters from an American 
company, Liang said that the company had to renege on the 
contract because the USG would not permit the export of the 
helicopters to China. The Ambassador noted that export control 
policy is currently under review in Washington. He added that 
intellectual property rights (IPR) protection is also important 
in spurring an increase in technology transfer. Noting that many 
business people cite Jiangsu as a leader in IPR protection, the 
Ambassador proposed working with Jiangsu to identify it as a 
model IPR province and thus direct more American businesses to 
Jiangsu. Liang eagerly welcomed the prospect of increased 
cooperation and reiterated that Jiangsu takes IPR protection 
very seriously. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
U.S. is Nanjing's Most Important Trade Partner 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4. (SBU) Nanjing Municipal Party Secretary Mr. Zhu Shanlu put 
his city's relationship with the U.S. in the forefront by 
arranging for the Ambassador to help open a photo exhibit 
December 2 entitled, "Nanjing Memory in Sino-U.S. Relations." 
Zhu stated his desire to deepen the cooperation between the U.S. 
and Nanjing. Calling the U.S. the most important foreign trading 
partner for Nanjing, Zhu highlighted the fact that Nanjing 
hosted the EU-China Summit at the end of November, and noted 
that Nanjing is bidding to host the second World Youth Olympics 
scheduled for 2014. Zhu requested the Ambassador's assistance in 
garnering support from the U.S. delegate to the International 
Olympic Committee (IOC) during the February vote in Vancouver. 
(Note: The Department has since informed us that we never adopt 
a position on Olympic bids. End Note) 
 
¶5. (U) The Ambassador called Nanjing the best historical example 
of U.S.-China cooperation. He introduced Consulate General 
Shanghai's new Nanjing outreach officer and spoke of the 
importance of both educational exchange and economic 
cooperation. (Note: Later the same day, the Ambassador delivered 
a well-received speech to over 150 students, professors and 
university officials at the Johns Hopkins - Nanjing University 
Center for Chinese and American Studies. End Note) Zhu was 
particularly interested in cooperation in the educational field 
and said he would like to attract more American students to 
Nanjing. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
 
SHANGHAI 00000477  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Yangzhou Wants Foreign Direct Investment 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) From Nanjing, the Ambassador and Mrs. Huntsman traveled 
December 3 to Yangzhou, the city where they adopted their 
daughter Gracie Mei in 1999 (ref A). After warmly welcoming the 
Huntsman family, Yangzhou Municipal Party Secretary Ms. Wang 
Yanwen underscored the importance of foreign direct investment 
in Yangzhou. She named Colgate-Palmolive as the largest American 
presence in Yangzhou, manufacturing approximately 1.5 billion 
toothbrushes annually. Additionally, Yangzhou is hoping to 
attract investment from high-tech industries. Wang also cited 
the tourism industry as another important facet of Yangzhou's 
economy and hoped the Ambassador's visit would improve 
Yangzhou's profile among potential tourists. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Yangzhou Acting Mayor Mr. Xie Zhengyi reiterated Wang's 
comment on tourism to the Ambassador in a separate December 3 
meeting and requested the Ambassador's assistance in promoting 
Yangzhou as an attractive tourist destination to foreign 
audiences. Xie noted that he also sought to promote the 
development of Yangzhou enterprises in information technology 
and alternative energy. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Suzhou: China's 5th Largest Municipal Economy 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) In Suzhou on December 4, Party Secretary Mr. Jiang 
Hongkun told the Ambassador that Suzhou boasts the fifth largest 
municipal-level economy in China, behind only Shanghai, Beijing, 
Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Suzhou's exports in 2008, valued at USD 
228.5 billion, represented approximately 10 percent of the total 
value of all national exports. Jiang said that 20,000 
foreign-invested companies had operations in Suzhou, including 
Microsoft and General Electric. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Ambassador praised Suzhou for its large and growing 
economy, relating comments from U.S. business representatives 
who told the Ambassador that they had no complaints about their 
investments in Suzhou. In response to Jiang's comments about the 
negative impact of the global economic downturn on Suzhou's 
export-oriented economy, the Ambassador said the coordinated 
response by the U.S. and China was a positive example of the two 
most important global powers focusing on shared interests in 
solving a problem of global import. 
 
¶10. (U) On the press side, the visit was highly publicized and 
positively received, garnering substantial coverage from 
regional outlets in addition to a few national outlets. Most 
stories focused on the Ambassador's personal connection to 
Yangzhou and Jiangsu, and highlighted his comments that today's 
youth will play a critical future role in promoting mutual 
understanding between the U.S. and China. 
 
--------------------- 
Comment and Bio Notes 
--------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Jiangsu really rolled out the red carpet for the 
Ambassador, providing excellent entree to introduce our new 
Nanjing outreach officer and increase our contacts with rising 
leaders. In each of these jurisdictions, from the province on 
down, meetings with the top party official were arranged without 
question. This despite the fact that our requests to meet with 
Party institutions at lower levels have generally been denied in 
Jiangsu, as elsewhere. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Although Liang Baohua is near retirement age, all of 
the Ambassador's other interlocutors are potential candidates 
for higher office (for further details, see ref B). The two 
Yangzhou leaders, Party Secretary Wang Yanwen (49) and Mayor Xie 
Zhengyi (41), seem particularly likely to move up the political 
career ladder. Only 41 years old and holding a rank equivalent 
to a departmental Director-General in a Central Government 
ministry, Xie is obviously a fast-rising political figure. If he 
does well as Suzhou Municipal Party Secretary, Jiang Hongkun is 
also likely to end up in a higher position, as past Suzhou 
officials have done. End Comment and Bio Notes. 
 
¶13. (U) Embassy Beijing cleared this report. 
CAMP