Overseas reportings on Obama's visit to China

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-18 07:37

The statements ended the most substantive part of Mr Obama's first visit to China, which continued Tuesday afternoon with a sightseeing tour and a formal state dinner. Underscoring the fact that such summits have now become routine, no historic agreements were reached - nor were any expected - and no major initiatives announced. The two sides did issue a joint statement that summarized the content of their talks and positions on key points. Wall Street Journal

Obama has cast his visit as an effort to win trust from a government and a public often wary of US intentions toward the rising Asian superpower and world's third biggest economy Both governments have tried to strike a friendly tone before what could otherwise be a combative summit. Reuters

The leaders' nuanced statements pointed to differences between two competing powers deeply interlinked economically and repeatedly thrust together on diplomatic crises on which they have differing views.

While both leaders sought to stress areas of agreement, they did not shirk from subtly hinting at issues where gaps remained. AFP

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The public pronouncements were full of familiar rhetoric. At the start of their first meeting, Mr Obama told Mr Hu: "We believe strong dialogue is important not only for the US and China, but for the rest of the world."

It was, instead, an example of Chinese stagecraft. Most of those who attended the event at the Museum of Science and Technology turned out to be members of the Communist Youth League, an official organization that grooms obedient students for future leadership posts.

It remained unclear whether the United States would make progress on several issues on this trip, including on the management of its tightly controlled currency, the renminbi, or on how to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons. China has rejected American pressure to allow the renminbi to float freely and has opposed tougher sanctions on Iran. The New York Times

Hu and Obama presented a broadly united front, although they did touch briefly on points of contention in the fields of trade and human rights. Al Jazeera

Despite reaffirming the importance of deeper US-China co-operation to world peace and stability, the two sides were unable to disguise the deep differences that separate them on trade, security, climate change and human rights. Daily Telegraph

 

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