US President Barack Obama told Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping that China’s growing economic power brings with it responsibility to work toward “balanced” trade and to recognise the aspirations of all people for greater rights.
Obama met on Tuesday with the man who is in line to become China’s top leader next year as both nations seek to ease tension over trade imbalances and the US prods China towards greater cooperation on global security issues, including thwarting Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon and confronting the regime in Syria.
“We welcome China’s peaceful rise” and expect relations between the world’s two biggest economies will continue on a “cooperative track,” Obama said in the Oval Office of the White House as he and Xi sat down for their first meeting.
Xi said through a translator that he wants to “deepen mutual understanding” and cooperation with the US.
His arrival in Washington follows Obama’s moves to reassert US power and influence in the Asia-Pacific region and as China has emerged as one of the foreign policy issues in the US presidential election campaign.
Republican presidential hopefuls have ramped up criticism of China on currency manipulation, intellectual property protection and for the hurdles the state sets up for U.S. businesses. They accuse Obama of not standing up enough to China’s rising economic and military power.
The meeting between Obama and Xi comes a day after Obama asked Congress in his next budget for $26 million and at least 50 people for a new panel to investigate unfair trade practices by China and other countries.
With assistance from Eric Martin and Dune Lawrence in Washington and Li Yanping and Dexter Roberts in Beijing. Editors: Joe Sobczyk, Mark McQuillan.
