'We welcome China's peaceful rise': Obama praises Beijing despite differing ideas... but warns heir apparent on human rights record

2012. február 14./DailyMail/ITN/TibetPress

Barack Obama today assured China's heir apparent leader that the U.S. welcomes Beijing's rise in the world - despite the country’s sharp policy differences over foreign affairs and economic issues.
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping was given a warm welcome by the U.S. President, who said strong cooperation is good for the rest of the world - but reiterated concerns over its human rights record.
Vice President Xi, who is slated to replace Communist Party President Hu Jintao in autumn, defended China’s rights record over the past 30 years, but added that ‘there's always room for improvement’.

Greetings: U.S. President Barack Obama, right, meets with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Tuesday

His comments on Tuesday were similar to those made by President Jintao during a state visit one year ago. Both sides stressed the importance of stable relations between the two global powers.
Underscoring the sensitivity of the rights issues among China's critics, a few hundred protesters marched outside the White House in Washington, waving Tibetan flags and calling for a free Tibet.

They held signs proclaiming, ‘Xi Jinping: Tibet will be free’ and shouted slogans such as ‘Shame on Chinese government’ and ‘Stop lying to the world.’
But Vice President Xi's unusually long and high-level visit to the U.S. reflected the stature he is set to assume, and the importance the Obama administration puts on building ties with Beijing.

Foreign affairs: Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping also met with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, left, and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, right, on Tuesday

‘We welcome China's peaceful rise,’ President Obama said. ‘We believe that a strong and prosperous China is one that can help to bring stability and prosperity to the region and to the world.’

He said he looks forward to future cooperation. A smiling Vice President Xi said he wants to build on the past relationship between President Obama and President Hu and ‘deepen the friendship’.
‘I hope to engage with a broad cross-section of American society during my current visit so as to deepen mutual understanding, expand consensus (and) strengthen cooperation,’ he added.
Vice President Xi's visit is being closely watched because he will likely lead China over the coming decade. After becoming party leader, he is expected to replace President Hu in office next year.

In the years ahead, the U.S. and China are likely to see their economic ties grow even as they are viewed increasingly as military rivals - something acknowledged by Vice President Joe Biden.

‘We are not always going to see eye-to-eye (or) see things exactly the same,’ he said. ‘But we have very important economic and political concerns that warrant that we work together.’
Vice President Xi has impeccable Communist Party credentials as the son of a famed revolutionary, but is viewed as more able to make personal connections than Hu and be more friendly.

While his trip is unlikely to herald any policy changes, it may signal his leadership style. Other than his genial demeanour, he revealed little in his rather staged appearances at the White House.

Talks: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, third right, and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, fifth left, hold an expanded bilateral meeting with other U.S. and Chinese officials in the Roosevelt Room at the White House

But President Obama let on that Vice President Xi may take in an L.A. Lakers NBA basketball game when he visits Los Angeles, California, toward the end of his trip.

Later on Tuesday, Vice President Xi was meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who was hoping to inject some vigour into half-hearted ties between their two militaries.
Washington will need to convince a sceptical Beijing that an adjustment in U.S. foreign policy to emphasise the economically booming Asia-Pacific region is not aimed at containing the rise of China.

And for its part, China needs to convince the U.S. and many Asian nations that they need not fear its two-decade military build-up.

Protests: Demonstrators wave flags and banners during a pro-Tibetan demonstration in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington D.C. on Tuesday

Vice President Biden and President Obama also discussed some thorny foreign policy issues with Vice President Xi, including North Korea, Iran and Syria.

Last week China joined Russia in vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution pressuring Syrian President Bashar Assad's government over its violent crackdown on opponents.
Vice President Xi said that a greater part of his discussions were on economic and trade issues. He said the U.S. and China agree the international economic and financial situation remains ‘grim.’

Shouts: Dozens of impassioned pro-Tibet and anti-Chinese government activists outside the White House meditated, waved flags and chanted 'China lies, Tibetans die' and 'Xi, Tibet will be free!'

He added that ensuring growth and promoting employment were high on the domestic agenda of both countries.

The key American concerns are the vast trade imbalance between the world's two largest economies, and Chinese trade rule violations.

The U.S. also reiterated problems with intellectual property theft and the value of China's currency.
The yuan has gained a little against the dollar in the past 1 1/2 years but still is viewed by Washington as undervalued to boost the exports that still drive China's economy.

Taking part: Losel Tenzon, left, attends a pro-Tibetan demonstration and Falun Gong practitioners meditate

With President Obama vying for re-election this November, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney is accusing him of being soft on China at the expense of a still-fragile U.S. economy.

Alongside Vice President Xi, President Obama stressed the ‘importance of working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system.’
'On critical issues like human rights we will continue to emphasise what we believe is the importance of recognising the aspirations and rights of all people,' President Obama added.
Vice President Xi said the U.S. and China should ‘strive for greater balance in trade and investment between the two countries’.
U.S. officials see the visit primarily as an investment in relationship-building, both on the personal level and to advance a three-year push for cooperative ties with Asia's emerging superpower.