Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:04pm EST
Obama to meet Wen as China visit winds down
BEIJING (AFP) - U.S. President Barack Obama will continue courting China on Wednesday while perhaps cajoling it on economic and currency strains, with the final day of his visit featuring talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Obama's first visit to China has been a mix of goodwill displays toward its sometimes wary people and leaders and closed-door discussions focused on the two big powers' vast and increasingly complex relationship.
Wednesday will be no different. Obama will visit the Great Wall -- for Chinese people a proud symbol of their imperial heritage -- and he may first press Wen, the head of the Chinese government, on touchy economic and diplomatic issues.
Obama made plain in a summit with President Hu Jintao on Tuesday that one of his top concerns was China's currency policy. Many in Washington believe Beijing keeps the yuan too low in value, putting competitors at a disadvantage and distorting global economic flows.
Hu, who is also the head of China's Communist Party, avoided mentioning the yuan or the dollar in his comments before reporters.
But Wen, who is more deeply involved in day-to-day economic affairs, may be more willing to grapple with Obama on currency and China's own gripes with U.S. trade rules.
Officials and experts from both sides have stressed, however, that Obama's visit will not bring about immediate policy shifts.
"There will still be setbacks and even conflicts between China and the United States," said a commentary in the overseas edition of China's official People's Daily.
"It will take the constant efforts of one or two generations, perhaps several, to bring stable progress to relations."
Such summits are about setting priorities for future dealings, not making immediate policy changes, said Jin Canrong, an expert on China-U.S. ties at Renmin University in Beijing.
The issue of currencies has drawn testy comments from U.S. and Chinese officials. China's Commerce Ministry on Monday rebuffed calls for the yuan to appreciate, signaling resistance to change foreign exchange policy.
Outside pressure has been building on Beijing to let the yuan rise after more than a year of it being nearly frozen in place against the dollar, with the latest appeal voiced by the head of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.
But Chinese officials have swatted down speculation of any big moves soon, and the government appears likely to keep the currency on a tight rein at least until the middle of 2010 to cement the country's economic recovery.
"Any policy changes by China, including on the exchange rate, will be based on its assessment of its own interests, not on external pressure," said Jin, the professor.
Wen may also have his own economic warning for Obama. In March, he took Washington to task over its fiscal policies, saying he worried about the health of China's vast U.S. assets.
China has amassed $2.27 trillion of foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest stockpile, and analysts think about two-thirds of this is invested in dollar-denominated assets.
Obama and Hu have said that strains over trade and U.S. criticism of China's human rights restrictions should not overshadow cooperation.
Even small details have reinforced that message.
At their state dinner on Tuesday night, the selection of music played by a People's Liberation Army band included the pop songs, "We are the world" and "I just called to say I love you." (?)
Bonnie Glaser, an expert on China at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said the statement issued by Obama and Hu underscored "the two countries have a lot of common interests, but it remains to be seen whether they can cooperate to advance them."
Obama's talks with Wen may also cover Iran and North Korea, both nuclear trouble-spots where Washington and Beijing say they want to work together, but often disagree on how much pressure to apply. Wen visited North Korea early last month.
North Korea will also feature in Seoul, where Obama flies to later on Wednesday for meetings with South Korean leaders.
North Korea toned down hostile rhetoric a day ahead of Obama arriving in Seoul, saying in an official newspaper on Tuesday that it wanted better ties between the two, divided Koreas.
Obama to meet Wen as China visit winds down
BEIJING (AFP) - U.S. President Barack Obama will continue courting China on Wednesday while perhaps cajoling it on economic and currency strains, with the final day of his visit featuring talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Obama's first visit to China has been a mix of goodwill displays toward its sometimes wary people and leaders and closed-door discussions focused on the two big powers' vast and increasingly complex relationship.
Wednesday will be no different. Obama will visit the Great Wall -- for Chinese people a proud symbol of their imperial heritage -- and he may first press Wen, the head of the Chinese government, on touchy economic and diplomatic issues.
Obama made plain in a summit with President Hu Jintao on Tuesday that one of his top concerns was China's currency policy. Many in Washington believe Beijing keeps the yuan too low in value, putting competitors at a disadvantage and distorting global economic flows.
Hu, who is also the head of China's Communist Party, avoided mentioning the yuan or the dollar in his comments before reporters.
But Wen, who is more deeply involved in day-to-day economic affairs, may be more willing to grapple with Obama on currency and China's own gripes with U.S. trade rules.
Officials and experts from both sides have stressed, however, that Obama's visit will not bring about immediate policy shifts.
"There will still be setbacks and even conflicts between China and the United States," said a commentary in the overseas edition of China's official People's Daily.
"It will take the constant efforts of one or two generations, perhaps several, to bring stable progress to relations."
Such summits are about setting priorities for future dealings, not making immediate policy changes, said Jin Canrong, an expert on China-U.S. ties at Renmin University in Beijing.
The issue of currencies has drawn testy comments from U.S. and Chinese officials. China's Commerce Ministry on Monday rebuffed calls for the yuan to appreciate, signaling resistance to change foreign exchange policy.
Outside pressure has been building on Beijing to let the yuan rise after more than a year of it being nearly frozen in place against the dollar, with the latest appeal voiced by the head of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.
But Chinese officials have swatted down speculation of any big moves soon, and the government appears likely to keep the currency on a tight rein at least until the middle of 2010 to cement the country's economic recovery.
"Any policy changes by China, including on the exchange rate, will be based on its assessment of its own interests, not on external pressure," said Jin, the professor.
Wen may also have his own economic warning for Obama. In March, he took Washington to task over its fiscal policies, saying he worried about the health of China's vast U.S. assets.
China has amassed $2.27 trillion of foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest stockpile, and analysts think about two-thirds of this is invested in dollar-denominated assets.
Obama and Hu have said that strains over trade and U.S. criticism of China's human rights restrictions should not overshadow cooperation.
Even small details have reinforced that message.
At their state dinner on Tuesday night, the selection of music played by a People's Liberation Army band included the pop songs, "We are the world" and "I just called to say I love you." (?)
Bonnie Glaser, an expert on China at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said the statement issued by Obama and Hu underscored "the two countries have a lot of common interests, but it remains to be seen whether they can cooperate to advance them."
Obama's talks with Wen may also cover Iran and North Korea, both nuclear trouble-spots where Washington and Beijing say they want to work together, but often disagree on how much pressure to apply. Wen visited North Korea early last month.
North Korea will also feature in Seoul, where Obama flies to later on Wednesday for meetings with South Korean leaders.
North Korea toned down hostile rhetoric a day ahead of Obama arriving in Seoul, saying in an official newspaper on Tuesday that it wanted better ties between the two, divided Koreas.
