Obama, Hu Focus on Areas of Cooperation in Meetings (Update1)

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao said they focused on areas where their two governments can cooperate during a first round of meetings in Beijing today.

Obama characterized the morning session with Hu as “very constructive,” telling reporters that the two governments working together on economic and security issues would have implications beyond Asia.

Hu said through a translator that the U.S. and China agree “in many important” areas. He said he looked forward to more “in-depth” discussions in a second round of talks.

Going into today’s meetings Obama said he wanted to continue “a meeting of the minds” with Hu about how their nations can lead on global issues.

Topics on the agenda include the U.S. president’s pursuit of a more “balanced” economic relationship, joint efforts on negotiations leading to a global climate change treaty and efforts to bring North Korea back to the bargaining table over its nuclear program.

Obama is “trying to reassure Beijing that we want a good constructive relationship, not trade protectionism, and on the other hand we’re trying to reassure Asia that we’re not going to acquiesce in a future Chinese hegemony in the region,” said Ted Carpenter of the Cato Institute.

‘Delicate Balance’

“That’s a delicate balance to put it mildly,” said Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Washington-based policy research group.

Obama has struck a mostly conciliatory tone toward China during the first half of his eight-day Asian trip. In Shanghai yesterday, he told his student audience that the U.S. “insists we do not seek to contain China’s rise.”

“On the contrary, we welcome China as a strong and prosperous and successful member of the community of nations --a China that draws on the rights, strengths, and creativity of individual Chinese like you,” he said.

Still, Obama used the same forum to prod China on human rights and freedom. In addition to speaking to and taking questions from a group of about 400 students selected by their universities, he also answered queries submitted via the Internet.

That provided him an opening to talk about “universal rights” of freedom of expression and religion for all people and groups “whether they are in the United States, China, or any nation.”

After their first meeting today, Obama and Hu made no mention of one source of friction between the two nations, China’s currency peg to the dollar.

China has kept the yuan at about 6.83 per dollar since July 2008. Some lawmakers in the U.S. have been calling for the administration to put more pressure on the Chinese, saying the yuan’s value is unfairly undercutting U.S. companies.

The leaders had a private dinner last night at the Diaoyutai State Guest House. And the Chinese will host a State Dinner in Obama’s honor tonight in Great Hall of the People.

To contact the reporters on this story: Julianna Goldman in Beijing at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net; Edwin Chen in Beijing at echen32@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jim Kirk at jkirk12@bloomberg.net