Obama Puts Pressure on China as U.S. Asserts Asia Influence

President Barack Obama used his role as host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to pressure China on currency and intellectual property rights while telling voters that nations in the region are counting on U.S. leadership.

Obama told Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday that the American public and businesses are growing “increasingly impatient and frustrated” with the pace of progress in relations between the two nations, said Michael Froman, White House deputy national security adviser. Hu told Obama that a large appreciation of the yuan won’t solve U.S. problems, a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website said.