US-China ties
February 16, 2012
Before leaving Washington for Iowa, Xi stressed Beijing's impatience with US policies on Taiwan and Tibet, while offering closer cooperation with the US on trade and security.
“The world is currently undergoing profound changes, and China and the United States shared challenges and shoulder shared responsibilities in international affairs,” Xi said in a meeting in Washington with US business executives, academics and policy-makers involved with China.
“We should further use bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to enhance coordination between China and the United States on hotspots, including developments on the Korean peninsula and the Iran nuclear issue,” said Xi.
“History demonstrates that whenever each side handles relatively well the issues bearing on the other side's core and major interests, then Sino-US relations are quite smooth and stable. But when it is the contrary, there are incessant troubles,” he noted and warned that Washington should “abide by the one-China policy and take concrete actions to oppose Taiwanese independence.”
Increasing agricultural imports
Xi joined the Governor of Iowa Terry Branstad for a state dinner on Wednesday attended by several hundred business and government leaders, and was served a meal of Iowa-raised pork tenderloin, Angus beef and a soybean and corn salad.
Xi said he enjoyed his time in Iowa, both on his first trip to the state in 1985 and this week. He described Americans as “honest, warm hearted, hard-working, friendly” and said there was a “tremendous reservoir of goodwill” between the Chinese and American people.
The Chinese are expected to sign deals this year to buy a record amount of US soybeans – some 12 million tons, Reuters reported officials as saying. US corn and pork sales are also on the rise as the rising middle class in the Asian economic giant demands more and higher quality food.
“We are proud of our mutual beneficial trading partnerships with China and Iowa farmers are proud to harvest safe and reliable agricultural products for use by the people of China,” said Branstad in a toast at the state dinner.
Xi's visit to the US this week has given him a chance to boost his international status before he takes over the leadership of the rising Asian power. Xi will wrap up his US trip in Los Angeles on Thursday after finishing his stop to Iowa.
Author: Miriam Wong (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Sarah Berning