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At meetings with US counterpart, Chinese leader says "a lot still needs to be done" on human rights in his country. Last Modified: 20 Jan 2011 05:25 GMT | |||||
The US and China discussed the contentious issue of human rights amid the pomp and ceremony of a state visit that Barack Obama, the US president, has said will lay the foundation for deeper prosperity between the two nations. "I have been very candid with President Hu about those issues," he said. "China is always committed to the protection and promotion of human rights," he said. But Hu also acknowledged that "a lot still needs to be done" and that Beijing was willing to have a dialogue on the issue.
"With this visit we can lay the foundation for the next 30 years,'' Obama said at a grand arrival ceremony outside the White House. "We have an enormous stake in each other's success. In an interconnected world, in a global economy, nations including our own will be more prosperous and more secure when we work together." He also said co-operation between the US and China should be based on mutual respect, and that the two countries should respect each others' interests and development paths. The various deals will altogether support up to 235,000 jobs in 12 US states, according to US officials. In addition to the Boeing deal, China will also invest in US exports from agriculture, telecommunications and technology companies, including General Electric, Honeywell and Navistar. A separate deal was also signed to increase co-operation between the two countries on nuclear security. The deal, signed by officials from both countries, will see the establishment of a jointly financed nuclear security centre in China.
The venture is aimed at training to improve security at nuclear facilities and accounting on nuclear materials. US officials also hope to hold joint exercises on responding to nuclear disasters and to share nuclear detection techology. "From the Chinese perspective, they have the argument of 'We hold a lot of your debt, in fact you [US] owe us almost about $900bn'", she said. "The US argument to the Chinese is 'You need us just as much because you need to be able to sell your goods in our open market place'". The US exports $100bn of goods and services to China, making the country its largest trading partner after Canada and Mexico. China is also the largest foreign holder of US debt. "We'll continue to look for the value of China's currency to be increasingly driven by the market to ensure no nation has an undue economic advantage," he said, adding that this should also be in China's interest, to prevent inflation from looming. Hu referred without elaboration to "some disagreements" in the economic and trade area, which he said the two countries would aim to resolve. The US exports $100bn of goods and services to China, making the country its largest trading partner after Canada and Mexico. China is also the largest foreign holder of US debt. | |||||
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Source: Al Jazeera and agencies |
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Thursday 20 January 2011
China's Hu admits rights failings
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