US-China Relations - 169. page

China does not welcome the idea of a G2, said Premier Wen Jiaobao when meeting with U.S. President Obama on November 18, according to Xinhua. 

According to overseas Chinese media, Nanfang Weekend newspaper blanked out half a page to protest the CCP Propaganda Department’s censorng its articles. According to Epoch Times, during his meeting with Hu Jintao on November 17, Obama requested an interview by the Nanfang Weekend, a relatively liberal state-owned newspaper. Hu arranged it. However, Li Changchun, a Jiang Zemin loyalist, and member of the Standing Committee of the CCP’s Central Committee Political Bureau, in charge of propaganda, was annoyed that Hu bypassed him. He therefore ordered that the interview not be printed. Then after pressure from the US Embassy, the interview was allowed to be printed, but with certain sections cut out. The Propaganda Department also disallowed two other articles about Obama. In protest, Nanfang printed the newspaper with half a page blanked out (the newspaper page can be seen at http://www.mitbbs.com/article2/Military/32884503_1463.jpg).

This is a rare case of a state-owned media printing a blank newspaper page in protest.

Sources:
1. The Epoch Times, November 21, 2009
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/9/11/21/n2729468.htm
2. MIT BBS, November 20, 2009
http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/Military/32884503.html

The United States concerns in Asia center around its protecting its economic interests. An International Herald Leader article states that recent moves by the U.S. in Asia, including Obama’s visits, show that the core of U.S. policy in Asia is to protect its significant economic benefits and to maintain a political and economic order conducive to the U.S., “rather than to contain and prevail over China similar to its main goal during the Cold War, which was to contain the Soviet Union.” “Therefore, it is rather radical to equate the United States making friends in Asia with making enemies for China. The aim of US diplomacy in Asia is first to fight for its own interests, and then to guard against China.”

Source: International Herald Leader, November 16, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-11/16/content_12468543.htm

Study Times, a newspaper by CCP Central Party School, recently published an article on the current status of Sino-US relations. The article pointed out that Obama is the first US President to visit China in the first year of his first term. The author believes this is based on the facts that Obama will have a unique cooperative policy and that China is making a positive contribution to the international financial crisis. The article also indicated: (1) more contradictions do not necessarily mean more problems (between the two countries); (2) new economic growth points favor better Sino-US relations; (3) the two countries should have mutual respect for each other’s core interests.

Source: Study Times, November 2, 2009.
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=1&id=3017&nid=11025&bid=2&page=1

According to International Herald Leader, a newspaper under Xinhua, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated that the "the cycle of good and bad times" of Sino-US military exchanges over the years needs to be broken.  We hope that the U.S. should have enough common sense to realize that it is the U.S. military that has caused the occasionally good and bad times.

Tell the United States our concerns and pursuits directly. China has clearly put forward the requests on the Taiwan issue and China’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. The U.S. should not stretch its hand too far. On the issue of the Indian Ocean, the International navy should divide it into regions and provide anti-piracy convoy among different countries. Let us see how the U.S. will respond to China’s "cooperative and constructive spirit."

Source: International Herald Leader, November 2, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-11/02/content_12371614.htm

According to Xinhua, during the meeting with US Defense Secretary Gates, Vice Chairman Xu of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party highlighted four obstacles facing the two countries: arms sales to Taiwan, activities of U.S. warships and planes in the Chinese economic offshore zone, legal barriers, and strategic trust in China.

Xinhua concluded with quotes from a Chinese military expert, “Generally, there was no breakthrough in military exchanges to speak of. In the past, whenever the United States needed China to cooperate with its overall strategy, it would make some moves to ease up. Otherwise, they would stir up trouble in Sino-US relations.”

Source: Xinhua, November 2, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-11/02/content_12371404.htm

According to Study Times, if the United States truly intends to engage in constructive cooperation with China, it should care about China’s core interests “such as economic development, arms sales to Taiwan, Tibetan issues, and China’s disputes over territorial waters with its neighboring countries.” The US should not ask China to make a promise on environmental controls that exceeds its capability. “No matter what excuses the U.S. uses or what the volume of the sale is, China views arms sales to Taiwan as an interference with China’s sovereignty and disrespectful of Chinese feelings. The same holds with the issue of Tibet, which goes beyond human rights. And even from the human rights angle, the U.S. has no just reason to interfere….”

Source: Study Times, November 2, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=1&id=3017&nid=11024&bid=2&page=1

Behind the frequent occurrences of “Chinese Espionage Cases,” there are two factors at play, according to a commentary article published on October 30, 2009, by the International Herald Leader, a newspaper under Xinhua. First of all, China’s rise has made a psychological impact on Western countries. Repeated use of the “China Spy Case” can spread fear, reduce a sense of failure, and also whip up public opinion for those interest groups who advocate suppressing China. Secondly, it is easy for Chinese enterprises to step on some “mines” overseas since they are not that familiar with the local political environment and regulations. Those local enterprises can attack their Chinese rivals through “spy cases.”

Chinese enterprises should actively defend themselves by making full use of the Western justice system’s openness, completeness, and procedural justice. The "China Spy Case" is a psychological and public opinion war. Chinese media should grasp the right to speak.

Source: Xinhua, October 30, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-10/30/content_12359920.htm