VZCZCXRO1044
RR RUEHCN
DE RUEHGH #0046/01 0420822
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110822Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8547
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 9214

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000046 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, IIP/W, IRM/BPC/E-DIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI BEXP KPAO OIIP ECON CH
SUBJECT: GETTING TO KNOW YOU:  NANJING OFFICIALS WARM TO CONSULATE 
OUTREACH 
 
REF: A. a) SHANGHAI 27 (Jinagsu People's Congress Opening) 
     ¶B. b) 09 SHANGHAI 477 (Ambassador's Jiangsu Trip) 
     ¶C. c) 09 SHANGHAI 421 (New York Legislature Event) 
     ¶D. d) 09 SHANGHAI 320 (Independence Day Reception) 
     ¶E. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Not for distribution outside USG channels. 
 
SHANGHAI 00000046  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Jiangsu provincial officials who were 
initially suspicious of Consulate General efforts to implement 
an "American Presence Officer" program in Nanjing a little over 
a year ago are now keen on more contact with the Consulate. 
Neighbor provinces Anhui and Zhejiang, watching the increased 
Consulate focus on Jiangsu, are showing a new-found eagerness to 
benefit from similar outreach.  End summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Consulate General Shanghai's dedicated provincial 
outreach efforts began in October 2008 with the arrival of the 
Consulate's first American Presence Officer for Nanjing.  (Note: 
The Department's original plan to place a U.S. diplomat in 
Nanjing was rejected by the Chinese Government.  The Nanjing APP 
officer therefore covers the region from Shanghai.  End note.) 
The first task was to build contacts in Nanjing and convince the 
Jiangsu provincial government that the assignment of a Consulate 
officer dedicated to Nanjing affairs was a boost to relations 
rather than somehow threatening. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At the outset, the Jiangsu Foreign Affairs Office 
(FAO) treated the new outreach officer with wariness.  Initial 
meetings in late 2008 regularly included a standard reminder 
from the Chinese side that any permanent USG presence in Nanjing 
would require an agreement between the United States and China's 
Central Government.  The Jiangsu FAO also protested in writing 
the use of the title "designated officer for Nanjing" in 
official correspondence as being incompatible with the bilateral 
consular agreement, even though that same title was used by 
Mission staff assigned to comparable positions in other parts of 
China without objection by the relevant local authorities. 
 
 
 
-------------------------------------- 
From Plum Blossoms to Independence Day 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) As our outreach officer continued to plug away at 
establishing relationships, nervous officials started to warm 
up.  Near-weekly travel to Nanjing and a willingness to accept 
all invitations, even the Plum Blossom Festival, helped convince 
suspicious officialdom that they had a lot to gain from 
Consulate attention. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Consulate General Shanghai's July 2009 Independence Day 
reception in Nanjing saw a notable change in the official 
attitude toward our outreach efforts (Ref D).  The event marked 
the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of 
China that the USG had hosted an Independence Day reception in 
Nanjing.  The Jiangsu Provincial FAO showed clear apprehension 
in our initial discussions, suggesting in a mid-June meeting 
that no official above the provincial government secretariat 
level would likely attend the reception.  On the day of the 
event, therefore, we were surprised to learn we could expect 
high-level and extensive representation by the provincial 
leadership.  Arriving 30 minutes before the start of the event 
and staying well after the ceremonial opening to work the crowd, 
Jiangsu's vice governor in charge of foreign affairs led the 
official delegation, accompanied by a Nanjing vice mayor and 
representatives of the provincial People's Congress and the 
provincial People's Political Consultative Conference. 
Following the event, the Consulate received very positive 
feedback from attendees who said they appreciated the focus on 
Nanjing and Jiangsu and asked when the Consulate would host 
another such reception. 
 
 
 
------------------------ 
Tending the Relationship 
------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Regular tending of the relationship has continued to 
yield results.  Post participation in an October celebration of 
 
SHANGHAI 00000046  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the twentieth anniversary of the Jiangsu-New York sister state 
relationship led to interaction with high-level officials, 
including Jiangsu Communist Party Secretary Liang Baohua and 
Provincial People's Congress Foreign Affairs Committee member 
Zhou Wei (Ref C).  These connections proved instrumental in 
gaining requested meetings during Ambassador Huntsman's December 
trip as well as in Consulate attendance at the Jiangsu 
Provincial People's Congress opening session in January 2010. 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ambassador Huntsman's travel to Nanjing, Yangzhou and 
Suzhou in December 2009 (Ref B) offered a timely opportunity to 
introduce our new outreach officer to the leadership.  Stressing 
this officer's role as our dedicated point of contact for 
Nanjing, Ambassador Huntsman reiterated the benefits to the 
Chinese officials of having a central contact at the Consulate 
for their questions, visits, and programs. 
 
 
 
------------------------------ 
What a Difference a Year Makes 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU)   The Consulate's request to send observers to the 
annual Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress was approved in 2010 
after being refused in 2009, another testimony to the contacts 
formed and relationships built over the course of the year.  As 
a result, our Deputy Principal Officer (DPO) and four other 
Consulate reps attended the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress 
opening session January 25-26 (Ref A). Media coverage of their 
presence reached national levels and caught the interest of 
officials in neighboring Zhejiang province, who told the DPO 
they had seen press reports about his attendance.  When he 
suggested that Zhejiang might invite Consulate representatives 
to its Provincial People's Congress annual session in 2011, the 
officials seemed receptive. 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment:  A little over one year into our enhanced 
provincial outreach effort, Consulate General Shanghai has seen 
considerable pay-off in the form of increased access.  Even 
though the Consulate has engaged in extensive public affairs, 
political, economic, consular, and trade provincial outreach for 
many years, having an officer dedicated specifically to this 
effort has yielded tangible results and given us a new tool for 
launching effective, targeted outreach aimed at the provincial 
and sub-provincial jurisdictions outside Shanghai. 
CAMPBA