Obama, Hu to Discuss Free Trade, North Korea in Second Meeting
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao islikely to press U.S. President Barack Obama for assurances thatthe U.S. isn’t backing away from its commitments to free tradewhen the two leaders meet today in New York.
Neither side can afford to let the recent trade spat overauto tire duties overshadow cooperation on other agenda items,including North Korea and climate change, analysts said.
The Chinese “will not want to be seen to be publiclypicking a fight with the U.S.,” said David M. Lampton,director of China Studies at Johns Hopkins University’s Schoolof Advanced International Studies in Washington. At the sametime, “they don’t want the U.S. to go further down thatroad,” he said.
China’s influence is growing with the expansion of as itseconomy, which is set to pass Japan next year as the world’ssecond-biggest after the U.S., according to the InternationalMonetary Fund. As the leader of the biggest foreign buyer ofTreasuries at a time when the U.S. government has embarked on amassive borrowing spree to fund stimulus efforts, Hu’s messagetoday carries particular weight.
He and Obama first met in April at the London G-20 summit,and Obama plans to visit China in November. The bilateralagenda has changed since Obama took office, according toKenneth Lieberthal, director of the John L. Thornton ChinaCenter at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
“China has become significantly more important than itwas before,” said Lieberthal. “There’s also a lot of newissues that have rapidly moved to be tier-one issues in therelationship, and these for the first time are global,”including the economic and financial crisis, clean energy andclimate change and nuclear non-proliferation, he said.
Sticking to Pledges
As at the London G-20 gathering, China will focus onprodding countries to stick to pledges to abstain fromprotectionism and press for progress on greater representationfor developing countries in international financialinstitutions including the IMF, Chinese Vice Foreign MinisterHe Yafei said on Sept. 11.
On the same day, the U.S. decided to impose duties of 35percent on $1.8 billion of automobile tires from China,prompting Chinese officials to condemn the move, file acomplaint with the World Trade Organization and announce aprobe into U.S. chicken and auto products.
China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu declared onSept. 17 that the Asian nation is “ready to work with theU.S.” on the “broad common interests” the two countriesshare. Still, the trade dispute can be used by China to boostits international stature, said Daniel Rosen, principal of theRhodium Group in New York and a visiting fellow at the PetersonInstitute for International Economics in Washington.
Getting an ‘Earful’
“The president’s going to get an earful about it,” saidRosen. Hu “is in a strong position to push the president tosay something definitive about the limits of future U.S.employment of protectionist measures, which makes China looksleaderly and the U.S. look like it has its tail between itslegs.”
White House officials have discounted the effect that thetire decision will have on this week’s agenda. “We do notexpect recent trade action to have a significant impact or toplay a significant role in the discussion,” said Mike Froman,Deputy National Security Advisor of International Affairs onSept. 16.
North Korea, Climate
The other major issues on the agenda are likely to beNorth Korea and climate change, as leaders from around theworld attend a United Nations conference today where China isexpected to detail a new policy plan on the latter subject.
North Korea leader Kim Jong Il said last week he’sprepared to resume bilateral and multilateral talks ondismantling his nuclear program after a Chinese envoy delivereda letter from Hu that urged its neighbor to give up on itsatomic weapons ambitions, China’s Xinhua News Agency reportedon Sept. 18.
The letter represented an unusually overt move from China,North Korea’s closest ally and largest trading partner, toincrease pressure on its neighbor. North Korea said earlierthis year that it would abandon multilateral talks and in Maydetonated a second nuclear device.
Obama said he was hopeful of seeing progress indisarmament talks with North Korea, noting the communistcountry’s change of attitude after international sanctions onthe regime for its nuclear and missile tests.
“I think that North Korea is saying to itself, you know,we can’t just bang our spoon on the table and somehow thinkthat the world is going to react positively,” Obama said in aninterview with CNN broadcast on Sept. 20.
On climate change, U.S.-China cooperation is key to thesuccess of international attempts to limit global emissions ofcarbon dioxide. Both China and the U.S., as the world’s twobiggest emitters, share a concern that curtailment effortsdon’t undermine their growth and competitiveness.
Without agreement between the two nations, the othernations set to meet in Copenhagen in December to hammer out aclimate treaty have less incentive to make commitments.
To contact the reporter on this story:Dune Lawrence in New York at Dlawrence6@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: September 21, 2009 20:35 EDTSource: Bloomberg
« Back to Business News
Related News
-
Obama plays China card, but who holds the ace? Sep 21, 2009 @ 04:15 AM
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Although U.S. President Barack Obama has never set foot there, China cast a long shadow in the Pacific region where he grew up.
-
Obama tries to smooth over trade spat with China Sep 21, 2009 @ 04:15 AM
NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Barack Obama promised China's President Hu Jintao on Tuesday that the United States would stay committed to free trade, as he sought to ease friction over a decision to slap sanctions on Chinese tires.
-
US penalizes Chinese tires, infuriating Beijing Sep 21, 2009 @ 04:15 AM
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's decision to impose trade penalties on Chinese tires has infuriated Beijing at a time when the U.S. badly needs Chinese help on climate change, nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea and the global economy.
-
Obama Arrives to High Hopes at Asian Summit Sep 21, 2009 @ 04:15 AM
SINGAPORE — President Obama arrived in Singapore Saturday night for a meeting of Asian-Pacific countries seeking to ensure that the fast-growing region remains firmly cemented to the United States, despite disparities in economic growth and the rising influence of China.
-
Obama pledges greater U.S. engagement in Asia Sep 21, 2009 @ 04:15 AM
TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged Saturday to deepen dialogue with China rather than seek to contain the rising power, as he laid out a vision for greater engagement with a vibrant Asia-Pacific region.
