US tour
February 13, 2012
Chinese vice president Xi Jinping, who is expected to rule the fast-growing Asian power until 2023, is making a five-day tour of the US this week. This visit aims for a better acquaintance between US politicians and opinion makers and China's likely next president.
Xi is due to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday. Despite the close economic relations, China and the US are seen as rivals in the Asia-Pacific region in military and economic terms. Obama has vowed to boost power in Asia amid charges that Beijing is increasingly assertive towards its neighbors. The US has sought to strengthen military ties with Vietnam and Singapore while sending troops to Australia and Philippines recently.
Warning against US military focus
China called on the US to put a priority on economic growth instead of boosting military strength in Asia.
“At a time when people long for peace, stability and development, to deliberately give prominence to the military security agenda, scale up military deployment and strengthen military alliances is not really what most countries in the region hope to see,” Xi said in a written interview with The Washington Post.
“We welcome a constructive role by the United States in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region. We also hope that the United States will fully respect and accommodate the major interests and legitimate concerns of Asia-Pacific countries,” said Xi.
US concerns
Meanwhile, The US has been persistently concerned about human rights, including a crackdown in Tibetan areas and the increasing detention of dissidents, along with China's recent veto with Russia of a UN Security Council resolution to pressure Syria's president over escalating violence. China's low currency value to boost exports and weak protections for intellectual property are also among the complaints by US politicians.
Xi said that Americans have benefited from China's fast-growing economy. He said that US consumers have saved 600 billion dollars by buying Chinese products, a figure offered by incumbent president Hu Jintao on a state visit to Washington last year.
Xi noted that China had taken active moves to meet legitimate US concerns over intellectual property protection and trade imbalances. “We will continue to push the reform of the renminbi exchange rate formation mechanism and offer foreign investors a fair, rule-based and transparent investment environment,” Xi said.
Xi will formally meet with the US vice president Joe Biden on Tuesday morning. The two politicians have planned at least eight engagements this week, beginning with two hours of conversation and exchange.
White House officials stressed that crucial issues, such as recent tensions in Tibet, would not be sacrificed for the sake of having a comfortable visit.
On Tuesday, Xi will speak before 600 corporate and policy leaders at a Washington lunch organized by the US- China Business Council and the National Committee on US-China Relations. Xi will make a stop in Muscatine, Iowa on Wednesday to meet local politicians and families where he stayed on his visit to the US in 1985 as a low-ranking official. On the same day, Xi is due to take part in the signing of a purchase deal for soybeans, the largest US export to China, in Des Moines, Iowa. Xi will wrap up his US tour in California where he will attend meetings with business leaders. He will stop in Ireland and Turkey before returning home.
Author: Miriam Wong (AFP, AP)
Editor: Gregg Benzow