General

Obama welcomes Hu Jintao to the White House

China and U.S. seek common ground

President Obama pulled out all the stops in welcoming Chinese Premier Hu Jintao to the White House on Wednesday, declaring that the two countries have “an enormous stake in each other’s success.” The two leaders announced a $45 billion export deal, including the sale of 200 Boeing airplanes to China, who will in turn scrap a protectionist policy that gives government contracts to Chinese technology firms. Obama also brought up the subject of human rights, and called on China to respect the rights of its citizens, including 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner and political prisoner, Liu Xiaobo. In his speech, the U.S. President harkened back the historic meeting of President Jimmy Carter and Deng Xiaoping in 1979, calling it a “historic normalization” of relations between the two countries. Obama and Hu will engage in a private meeting, meet with Chinese and American executives, give a news conference and wrap up the day’s proceedings with a state dinner honouring the Chinese premier.

New York Times

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