Xinhua Net
Xi discusses contentious issues with U.S. hosts, defending China's position
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping engaged in candid and straight-forward talks with top U.S. officials on a variety of contentious issues on Tuesday.
While addressing thorny issues such as trade, human rights, Taiwan and the so-called strategic trust deficit between the world's two largest economies, Xi defended China's position, stressing that his country's phenomenal rise over the last three decades creates opportunity, not a threat, to America.
WARNING AGAINST U.S. PROTECTIONISM
Facing a tough bid for reelection in November at a time when America's unemployment rate remained stubbornly high, U.S. President Barack Obama used his meeting with Xi at the White House to press charges against what Washington sees as "unfair" trade practices of China.
Xi warned Washington against protectionist measures in his behind-the-scenes talks with Obama, Xinhua learned.
Trade friction between China and America should be resolved through dialogue, not protectionism, on the principle of consultation on an equal basis and mutual benefit, the Chinese vice president told Obama.
Speaking to reporters before their close-door meeting, Obama, while reiterating Washington's policy of welcoming "China's peaceful rise," urged China to play by internationally-accepted rules on trade and economic issues.
"We want to work with China to make sure that everybody is working the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system, and that includes ensuring that there is a balanced trade flow between not only the United States and China, but around the world," Obama said.
Although bilateral trade was still "unbalanced" in favor of China in 2011, U.S. exports to China outgrew its imports, highlighting the Asian powerhouse's crucial role as an increasingly important market for American goods and services.
According to Chinese figures, U.S. exports to China reached 122.2 billion dollars in 2011, up some 20 percent from the previous year, while American imports from China jumped to 324.5 billion dollars, a 15-percent increase.
Prior to meeting with Obama, Xi held talks with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, during which he highlighted the importance of trade and economic ties in the overall bilateral relationship.
China-U.S. economic and trade ties serve as "ballast" and a "propeller" for overall bilateral relations, Xi said.
He expressed the hope that the two countries would improve their coordination of macroeconomic policies, deepen cooperation in handling the international financial and European debt crises, and advance cooperation programs on trade and investment.
The two sides, he added, should also preserve the basic pattern of mutual benefit and win-win results in their trade and economic relations.
U.S. politicians have long resorted to blaming China for job losses and other domestic economic hardships.
The Obama administration has imposed punitive tariffs on numerous Chinese imports such as tires and solar panels in recent years, moves that Chinese manufacturers say are unwise policies aimed at protecting uncompetitive U.S. industries and will hurt not only Chinese exporters but American consumers too.
International business experts have long argued that the U.S. trade deficit with China, largely a structural problem, has as much to do with Washington as with Beijing.
Simply put, as the U.S. economy shifts from manufacturing to services, it has to import much of what the nation consumes day to day from other countries such as China.
It is also worth noting that a large number of the goods America imports from China are actually manufactured by U.S. companies, that have shifted their production to China for its relatively low labor costs and lucrative investment incentives.
DEFENDING CHINA'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD
After his meeting with Obama, Xi was received at a luncheon at the State Department hosted by Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The exchange there touched on the politically sensitive issue of China's human rights record.
Xi, while acknowledging the enormous challenges faced by the Chinese government to improve human rights in the nation of over 1.3 billion people, emphasized China's efforts to address "people's aspirations and demands."
"Given China's huge population, considerable regional diversity and uneven development, we are still faced with many challenges improving people's livelihood and advancing human rights," Xi said.
"The Chinese government will always put peoples' interests first and take seriously people's aspirations and demands," he added.
Besides defending China's human rights record, Xi also extended an invitation for dialogue between China and America to sort out their differences on the thorny issue.
China is ready to conduct candid and constructive dialogue and exchanges on human rights with the United States and other countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect, Xi told his U.S. hosts.
China, as a large developing country, does need the expertise that America can offer when it comes to advancing human rights and achieving the rule of law.
However, such a win-win scenario of human rights interactions between China and America can only be achieved through dialogue, and harsh rhetoric from Washington against Beijing, which has consistently proved ineffective, will only poison the atmosphere of the complex bilateral relationship.
UPHOLDING CHINA'S CORE INTERESTS
Unlike trade, or differences over human rights, the Taiwan issue has been clearly defined by China as one of the country's core interests. The issue serves as the foundation of its foreign policy and should not be tampered with by other countries.
During his meetings with Obama and Biden, Xi, while receptive to U.S. concerns about trade and human rights, stood firm on upholding China's core interests.
Xi reiterated Beijing's position on the Taiwan issue and urged Washington to conform to the spirit of the three joint communiques underpinning China-U.S. relations during his meeting with Obama.
The Obama administration last September notified the U.S. Congress of its decision to sell arms worth 5.85 billion U.S.dollars to Taiwan, including upgrades for 145 of Taiwan's fighter jets.
The move infuriated Beijing and was seen as the latest evidence of Washington's irresponsible nonchalance to China's core interests.
Though not speaking specifically about the arms sale to Taiwan, Xi called on the United States to safeguard, with concrete action, the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and the overall development of China-U.S. ties, according to a press release issued by the Chinese delegation.
Xi said the Taiwan issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and remains, as always, the most important and most sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations.
Beijing appreciates Washington's repeated declarations of its commitment to the one-China policy, Xi said.
Obama, for his part, reiterated adherence to the one-China policy based on the three joint communiques.
The United States rejects any calls for "Taiwan independence," he said, adding that his country wants to see the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations move forward.
In talks with Biden, Xi said the Taiwan and Tibet issues concern China's core interests. He asked the United States to properly and cautiously handle those issues so as to avoid damage and disturbances to China-U.S. relations.
SEEKING TO REDUCE STRATEGIC TRUST DEFICIT
Xi's visit has been designed in part to reduced the so-called strategic trust deficit between the world's largest economy and the fastest growing power in the Asia-Pacific region.
Washington has been concerned for years that a rising China might be a destabilizing force by challenging the existing international political and economic order. Beijing, meanwhile, has long feared that America might be seeking to contain its rise.
There is no denying that divergences and disputes between the two countries still exist on many fronts that serve as obstacles in building strategic mutual trust.
During his meeting with Biden, Xi put forward several proposals to promote "strategic mutual trust" between the two countries, including respecting each other's core interests and accommodating each other's major concerns.
"The development of cooperative partnership could be guaranteed only when the two sides view each other's strategic intention and development path in a correct and objective way, respect each other's core interests and accommodate each other's major concerns, avoid making troubles for each other and do not cross over each other's bottom lines," Xi said.
Dialogues between countries' leaders play an efficient role in expounding their foreign policies, removing misunderstanding and thus reducing the strategic trust deficit between the two countries.
Xi proposed that China and the United States should make full use of various dialogue and consultation mechanisms to provide fresh impetus to forging their bilateral cooperative partnership.
Compared with dynamic economic and political interactions between the two countries, China-U.S. military ties are believed to be the weakest link in the complex relationship.
With America shifting more attention and resources back to the Asia-Pacific region with much fanfare, some are worried that the two powers might be in a collision course.
On military relations, Xi noted that efforts should be made to foster and enhance strategic mutual trust between the two countries.
Military relations constitute an important part of the China-U.S. relationship, and therefore need to serve the overall development of China-U.S. cooperative partnership, Xi said during talks with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta at the Pentagon.
Xi called on the two nations to make joint efforts to build a sound, stable and mature miliary relationship.
Panetta, for his part, said that the key to promoting the China-U.S. cooperative partnership is the strengthening of mutual trust, further conveying willingness to increase exchanges of high-level visits and build a strong military relationship conducive to their bilateral ties.
Undoubtedly, there are still serious suspicions to be settled before a solid strategic trust can be built between China and the United States.
Xi's words have shown that the suspicions are surmountable. A prosperous China, while creating some major competition for the United States, will not be a threat to America.
Meanwhile, the China-U.S. relationship, widely believed to be the most important in the 21st century, if managed properly, will not only bring significant benefits to the two countries, but also to the entire world.
Washington is the first leg of Xi's five-day visit to the United States. On Wednesday, he will also meet with the speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate majority leader.
Unlike Xi's Washington tour that features serious political talks, the remaining part of his U.S. visit is relatively easy, with a focus on the human touch.
Xi will make a stopover in the Midwestern state of Iowa and revisit the families whom he stayed with on a 1985 visit as a local official in China's northern Hebei province. He wraps up his U.S. visit on Friday in California, where he might watch an NBA game.
Editor: Bi Mingxin
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2012-02/15/c_131412218.htm
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