US-China Relations - 177. page

The U.S. espionage priority has been the four Chinese space R&D bases of Jiuquan, Xichang, Taiyuan and Hainan, according to a September 24 Xinhua article. 6 of the 12 U.S. espionage satellites are on Asia, particularly China. “Actions” in Jiuquan are clearly under their watch. The electronic survailance bases that the U.S. has established around China serve as the ear on China’s space development. Current there are over a dozen U.S. monitoring stations in Japan and Korea. The U.S. also maintains radar stations and electronic monitoring sites in Central Asia for this purpose. The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office conducts systematic monitoring activities. Located in Pentagon, it has an annual budget of between $250 to 350 million. It has digital imaging spy satellites such as Navy satellites KH-8 and KH-9, and CIA’s KH-11.

Source: Xinhua, September 24, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-09/24/content_10102121.htm

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said that China was strongly disappointed and was against the “2008 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom” published by US State Department on Friday September 19.  She said the report gave groundless criticism to China’s policy on religion and ethnic groups, which is against basic guidelines in handling international relationships. It has also interfered in China’s domestic affairs. “We strongly ask the US to correct its actions of criticizing religious affairs in other countries at its own will and stop publishing the report. "

Source: Xinhua, September 23, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-09/23/content_10098514.htm

Xinhua posted a news article published by the China Youth Daily on September 22 about China’s ambition to develop big airplanes. The article quoted China Aviation Industry Corporation (CAIC) General Manager Zuo Fengmin’s words as motivation: “When the United States bombed our embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, the victims’ bodies were transported back home by a big airplane made in the U.S. It was a huge humiliation for our country’s aviation industry.” The article concluded that if China is to realize industrial advancement and high national stature, improving the aviation industry is a task that must be accomplished; and 2008 is a pivotal year for China’s home-made big airplane to be ready to take off.

Source: Xinhua, September 22, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-09/22/content_10090910.htm

A Chinese government think tank believes the omission of a "China Threat" approach in the platforms of both Republican and Democratic Parties marks progress compared to the use of the term “strategic competitor “ by President Bush, reported the International Herald Leader under Xinhua. However, there are problems, observed International Herald Leader. The Republican platform discussed policies towards China and Taiwan separately. In particular, there is no mentioning of “one China”, clearly leaning toward Taiwan. In contrast, the Democratic platform stated that it upholds the “One China Policy.” International Herald Leader further stated that the Democratic Party favors protectionism and attacks China several times in the past on trade issues, quoting Biden’s remarking on banning toy products from China. It was noted that McCain is against protectionism.

Source: Xinhua, September 16, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-09/16/content_10027078.htm

Xinhua carried an article sourced from Shanghai Morning Post which praised Obama’s “China Think Tank” to be “programmatic and moderate”. It said: “Among those 15 Obama’s China Think Tank members, majority of them came from Clinton’s foreign policy cabinet. They are very familiar with China affairs. Most of them are programmatic and moderate with good relationship with China.”

The article then introduced a few key members led by Senator Biden. The article cited: “Mr. Biden disagrees with ‘engagement and containment’, the two words that Bush administration uses in its China Policy. But rather, Congressman Biden favors ‘compete and cooperate’, which can be used to summarize what Obama’s China policy would look like. "

Source: Xinhua, September 12, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-09/12/content_9935978.htm

Xinhua posted a news article first reported by China News Agency about Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s comments on U.S. policy and its challenge to other country’s interests and national integrity. The report quoted Ahmadinejad who said the U.S. is facing a deadlock and continuous failure in every aspects, “American imperialism has come to a dead end, American philosophy, culture, and morale are no longer appealing to other people.” “No country likes American imperialism, its interference in all issues including international issues not only is of no help to solve the problems, it makes the problems more complicated.”

Source: Xinhua, September 8, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-09/08/content_9846850.htm

“The US is uneasy about the emergence of China’s soft power and will take measures to make up its own losses.” Fan Jishe told Global Times (Huan Qiu Shi Bao) referring to a report published by Congressional Research Studies (CRS) titled “Comparing Global Influence: China’s and U.S. Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Trade, and Investment in the Developing World.” Fan said: “The US is concerned that China may compete with the US in its appeal to other countries.”

In referring to an earlier report, written by CRS under the request of Congressman Biden titled “China’s Foreign Policy and ‘Soft Power’ in South America, Asia, and Africa”, Fan said that the first report was focused on the definition of China’s soft power and its impact to the US-China relationship. The second one was to compare the soft power between China and US and U.S. foreign policy options in light of China’s emergence.

Fan is a researcher from Department of American Diplomacy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Source:
Global Times, September 8, 2008
http://world.huanqiu.com/roll/2008-09/219518.html
Comparing Global Influence: China’s and U.S. Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Trade, and Investment in the Developing World, August 15, 2008
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34620.pdf
China’s Foreign Policy and ‘Soft Power’ in South America, Asia, and Africa
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_rpt/crs-china.pdf

Peoples.com.cn under People’s Daily cited the U.K. newspaper The Guardian saying that if Obama wins, he could bring criminal charges against Bush.  The official website stated, “Democratic Vice-President nominee Joe Biden said that if his party wins the presidential election, criminal charges could be brought against the Bush administration, hence the strongest stance demanding investigation of crimes during the Bush Administration.”

Source: People’s Daily, September 5, 2008
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/7807622.html