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Saturday, January 31, 2009
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama and China's President Hu Jintao have agreed to forge "more positive" ties between their giant nations in their first telephone call since the US leader came to power, a White House spokesman said.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Obama and Hu spoke Friday morning US time of their "intention to build a more positive and constructive US-China relationship."
Meanwhile, Beijing said Saturday that the Chinese leader urged better ties with the United States in his first phone conversation with Obama, and called for both sides to resist trade protectionism.
An account of the conversation issued by the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Hu telling Obama that China would work toward a "more constructive China-US relationship" and welcomed US efforts to shore up the American economy, but warned against moves toward protectionism, the statement said.
"We hope to strengthen communication and coordination on macroeconomic policy and firmly resist trade protectionism," Hu was quoted saying.
The spokesman said the presidents agreed to work together on the international stage, specifically regarding Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and on counterterrorism and climate change.
"President Obama expressed appreciation for China's role as chair of the six-party Talks and the two sides affirmed the importance of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Gibbs said.
The only sign that the two leaders had touched on trade and currency tension came when Gibbs said Obama "stressed the need to correct global trade imbalances as well as to stimulate global growth and get credit markets flowing."
There was no mention in the statement whether the US president also raised perennial US concerns with China on human rights, Tibet, religious freedom and Taiwan, which Bejing considers a renegade province.
Earlier in the week, the first exchanges between the new administration and Beijing were dominated by a spat over comments by incoming Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that China was manipulating its currency.
Obama this week faced more pressure from Congress in a hearing when organizations including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders demanding he push Beijing on what they said was backsliding on human rights.
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama and China's President Hu Jintao have agreed to forge "more positive" ties between their giant nations in their first telephone call since the US leader came to power, a White House spokesman said.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Obama and Hu spoke Friday morning US time of their "intention to build a more positive and constructive US-China relationship."
Meanwhile, Beijing said Saturday that the Chinese leader urged better ties with the United States in his first phone conversation with Obama, and called for both sides to resist trade protectionism.
An account of the conversation issued by the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Hu telling Obama that China would work toward a "more constructive China-US relationship" and welcomed US efforts to shore up the American economy, but warned against moves toward protectionism, the statement said.
"We hope to strengthen communication and coordination on macroeconomic policy and firmly resist trade protectionism," Hu was quoted saying.
The spokesman said the presidents agreed to work together on the international stage, specifically regarding Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and on counterterrorism and climate change.
"President Obama expressed appreciation for China's role as chair of the six-party Talks and the two sides affirmed the importance of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Gibbs said.
The only sign that the two leaders had touched on trade and currency tension came when Gibbs said Obama "stressed the need to correct global trade imbalances as well as to stimulate global growth and get credit markets flowing."
There was no mention in the statement whether the US president also raised perennial US concerns with China on human rights, Tibet, religious freedom and Taiwan, which Bejing considers a renegade province.
Earlier in the week, the first exchanges between the new administration and Beijing were dominated by a spat over comments by incoming Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that China was manipulating its currency.
Obama this week faced more pressure from Congress in a hearing when organizations including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders demanding he push Beijing on what they said was backsliding on human rights.
