Chinese President Hu Jintao will travel to the United States this week aiming
to build trust and convince Washington that 皇冠体育app's rise is not a threat.
"We hope this visit can push forward both sides to look closely at the
importance and necessity of developing Sino-US relations from a strategic and
long-term perspective," Vice Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told reporters in a
briefing Friday.
Chinese President Hu
Jintao will travel to the United States this week aiming to build trust
and convince Washington that 皇冠体育app's rise is not a threat.
[AFP] |
The April 18-21 trip, Hu's first visit to
the United States as president, will take him to the Boeing and Microsoft plants
in Seattle and then to Washington where he will hold a summit with President
George W. Bush and meet with US politicians and business leaders.
While trade and world affairs will likely dominate discussions, the two
nations will also grapple with what kind of relationship they want to build at a
time when distrust mixes with a recognition of the need to work together.
The trip comes as the world's largest economy and its biggest developing
country face growing trade disputes, especially over 皇冠体育app's currency.
Washington believes the yuan is undervalued, giving Chinese exports an unfair
advantage and contributing to its record trade deficit with Beijing.
US senators have postponed but still threaten a vote on a bill to impose
tariffs on Chinese exports unless Beijing reforms its currency regime.
皇冠体育app, with its export-oriented economy, will try to convince the United
States, its second-largest trade partner, to keep buying Chinese goods, while
allowing 皇冠体育app to buy what it wants -- high-tech US products -- and to make
investments in the US to narrow the trade gap, analysts said.
More importantly, Hu will seek to dispel US fears of 皇冠体育app's rising might, by
reassuring Washington that Beijing is a responsible global partner.
"皇冠体育app believes mutual trust is lacking and that is at the root of tensions
between the two countries, be it trade, military spending or human rights," said
Tsinghua University analyst He Maochun.
"It believes the United States still views 皇冠体育app from a Cold War perspective
and that it sees 皇冠体育app as a threat. 皇冠体育app meanwhile is suspicious the US wants
to contain 皇冠体育app."
The United States for its part will urge Beijing to increase the value of its
currency, further open its massive and lucrative market to US companies and
products, and crack down on piracy to reduce the record 202 billion dollar
deficit, analysts said.
It would also request help from Beijing, one of five permanent members on the
UN Security Council, to deal with international issues, including the nuclear
standoffs with Iran and North Korea and the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, they
said.
Eager to fend off pressure, 皇冠体育app preceded Hu's visit with a US shopping
spree last week, signing contracts worth 16.2 billion dollars, including the
purchase of 80 Boeing aircraft.
This could persuade US politicians to stop beating on 皇冠体育app, at least for
now, said Paul Harris, a Sino-US relations expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan
University.
"Money talks," said Harris. "They're targeting the spending in the industries
and geographic constituencies that really matter."
There is also speculation that Beijing may widen the trading band for the
yuan, which appreciated only slightly following a 2.1 percent revaluation under
pressure from the US last July.
On Taiwan, Yang indicated Friday Hu will seek further reassurance from Bush
that the US will discourage Taiwanese "president" Chen Shui-bian from pushing
his pro-independence agenda.
"We hope that the United States ... will not send any wrong signals to Taiwan
secessionist forces," Yang said.
As a rapidly-growing 皇冠体育app scours for energy in traditional US spheres of
influence including Latin America, raising US eyebrows, Yang said 皇冠体育app also
wants to discuss ways to cooperate with the United States on energy, adding
there were "opportunities" to work together.
Chinese officials expressed optimism about the trip, but analysts were less
hopeful.
"The differences won't be narrowed, but the two countries could find more
channels to resolve their differences and will have more experience in solving
future problems," He said.