VZCZCXRO2075
RR RUEHCN RUEHVC
DE RUEHGH #0436/01 2831105
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091105Z OCT 08
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7229
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 7820
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000436
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
TREASURY FOR OASIA/INA/CUSHMAN AND WINSHIP
DEPT FOR EAP/CM
DEPT FOR INR/B
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV EFIN ETRD EINV KIPR CH
SUBJECT: HANGZHOU VICE MAYOR DISCUSSES FINANCIAL TURMOIL, CPC PLENUM,
AND IP PROTECTION
REF: SHANGHAI 320
SHANGHAI 00000436 001.2 OF 002
(U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified and for official
use only. Not for distribution outside of USG channels or via
the internet.
Summary
-------
1. (SBU) Tong Guili, Vice Mayor of Hangzhou, told the Consul
General on October 9 that the city's exports have decreased in
the face of a challenging economic environment, and the
municipal government has introduced several export promotion
measures to counter the effects of the global financial crisis.
Tong said the upcoming Communist Party of China (CPC) plenary
session would be an important opportunity to address the
urban-rural income gap problem, which she believes Hangzhou has
managed better than many other cities. The Vice Mayor also
commented on the evaluation of local leaders and intellectual
property protection in Hangzhou. End Summary.
Paying Close Attention to Global Financial Turmoil
--------------------------------------------- -----
2. (SBU) Vice Mayor Tong said Hangzhou officials are paying
close attention to the impact of the global financial crisis on
small exporters (see also reftel). Hangzhou's exports to the
United States have decreased this year, she said, and the
municipal government has introduced a series of measures to
encourage exports, including offering preferential loans to
small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and also reducing the
tax burden for SMEs. According to the Vice Mayor, Hangzhou is
better positioned than many Chinese cities to tackle economic
challenges because of the high proportion of private firms in
the city. Hangzhou officials are optimistic that private firms,
working together with the municipal government, can overcome the
current difficulties, she said.
Hangzhou's Views on the Third Plenum
------------------------------------
3. (SBU) When asked about the upcoming Third Plenum of the 17th
Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Vice Mayor
Tong immediately referred to the importance of addressing the
global financial crisis at the Plenum. Only when specifically
asked about the Plenum's stated focus on rural reform did she
repeat the Central Government's position that it is important
for the entire country's economic and social development for the
Plenum to focus on rural reform and the urban-rural income gap.
For Hangzhou, the urban-rural income gap is not as large because
rapid urbanization has benefited rural residents, she said, and
the municipal government will continue to promote urbanization
and secure the rights of villagers living in the municipality.
Evaluation and Training of Local Leaders
----------------------------------------
4. (SBU) In response to a question about possible outcomes from
the Plenum's rural reform focus that would affect her work in
Hangzhou, Vice Mayor Tong said her trade and investment
portfolio would be unaffected by the Plenum. Tong acknowledged
efforts in Southern China and elsewhere to revise the evaluation
of local leaders to include non-economic indicators such as
environmental protection. For her part, however, as the Vice
Mayor with the foreign affairs portfolio, Tong told the Consul
General that most of her evaluation focuses on promoting
economic development in Hangzhou through trade, investment, and
foreign economic cooperation.
5. (SBU) Tong said the Zhejiang Provincial government sends 50
local officials to economic training programs in the United
States each year, including one-year Master's in Public
Administration (MPA) courses in Los Angeles and Houston, an
indication of the importance of foreign trade and investment to
Zhejiang Province and Hangzhou municipality. Tong praised the
four-month economic management training course she attended at
UCLA in 2000.
Protecting Intellectual Property in Hangzhou
--------------------------------------------
6. (SBU) Although the Consulate has in the past found Zhejiang
provincial and Hangzhou municipal government officials unwilling
to discuss intellectual property rights (IPR) concerns, Vice
SHANGHAI 00000436 002.2 OF 002
Mayor Tong said municipal government officials now better
understand the importance of protecting IPR because Hangzhou is
trying to develop its hi-tech sector. IPR will therefore be a
key part of the city's development strategy, Tong said, adding
that the municipality still has a long way to go to meet global
standards for IPR protection. There is an IPR complaint center
in Hangzhou that cooperates with the Municipal Science and
Technology Bureau and Municipal Industrial and Commerce Bureau,
she said.
Comment
-------
7. (SBU) Vice Mayor Tong reiterated many of the concerns raised
by Mayor Cai Qi in Hangzhou two months ago. Like other
second-tier cities in East China, Hangzhou clearly remains
seriously concerned about the impact of the global financial
crisis and the economic slowdown in the United States.
Bio Note: Tong Guili
--------------------
8. (SBU) Tong Guili is a young, impressive city official who is
steadily moving upward. She was born in October 1969 in Anshun,
Guizhou Province, and is a native of Wuchang, Heilongjiang
Province. She was named Vice Mayor of Hangzhou in April 2007
after having served as Deputy Secretary General of Hangzhou's
CPC Standing Committee from December 2006 to April 2007. Her
portfolio includes trade, investment, foreign economic
cooperation, foreign affairs, Overseas Chinese affairs, Taiwan
affairs, port affairs, the Hangzhou Economic Development Zone,
and High-tech Industrial Zone. She is responsible for the work
of Hangzhou's Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau and
the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office.
9. (SBU) Tong visited the Consulate on October 9 to apply for a
visa to travel to New York as the head of a municipal
government-level delegation to the United Nations, which will
host the "Hangzhou Food Festival" October 18-21. Tong said it
would be her second trip to the United States -- in 2000 she
attended a four-month economic management training at the
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) sponsored by the
Zhejiang Provincial Government.
10. (SBU) CPC Party Secretary in Fuyang County, Zhejiang
Province from December 2002 to December 2006 (and Fuyang's
Deputy Party Secretary from July 2001 to December 2002). From
1990 to 2001, she was Deputy Chief and then Chief of the
Qinggong Department of the Communist Youth League (CYL) Hangzhou
Committee, Deputy Secretary and then Secretary of the CYL's
Hangzhou Committee, and a member of the CPC Hangzhou Standing
Committee.
CAMP