WASHINGTON — The man destined to be China’s next leader won an extraordinary welcome across Washington on Tuesday, a finely scripted opening to one of the world’s most important relationships. Trading kind words of cooperation, President Barack Obama and Xi Jinping also spoke directly about human rights and worsening foreign crises.
Everything about the day reflected just how much China and the United States need each other, no matter what their differences, given their economic and military might and global influence. Xi got a lengthy Oval Office audience with Obama, an elaborate reception at the State Department, full military honors at the Pentagon, a gathering with chief business executives and an invitation for dinner at Vice President Joe Biden’s house.
At the center of it was a president seeking four more years and the man expected to lead China for the next decade. Xi, whose full name is pronounced “shee jeen-ping,” is China’s vice president and is expected to succeed Hu Jintao as president in 2013.
“I’m sure the American people welcome you,” Obama said.
The president and vice president, though, both sent stern messages to China about showing more responsibility economically, a sign of simmering frustration over currency and trade policies. Obama said China must play by “the same rules of the road” as the world, and Biden warned Xi that cooperation “can only be mutually beneficial if the game is fair.”
All the symbolism and protocol were intended to pay dividends in the coming decade and to reciprocate for Biden’s warm stay in China last year.
There were no obvious breakthroughs — Xi is not empowered yet anyway — but the stature he is set to assume was enough to draw rare attention.
Obama and Xi said they would maintain a relationship based on the traditional diplomatic speak of mutual interests and respect. They kept their focus on a diverse and cooperative agenda, although Obama did push China on human rights and the importance to recognize the “rights of all people.”
In a separate setting, Xi later defended his country’s rights records over the past 30 years but added: “Of course there’s always room for improvement on human rights.”
For Xi, the itinerary was carefully negotiated to convey high-level significance and minimize the chance of making news or, worse, any gaffe.
Neither he nor Obama took questions.
Outside the gates of the White House, a few hundred protesters marched, waving Tibetan flags and calling for a free Tibet.
Inside the Oval Office, Obama assured Xi: “It is absolutely vital that we have a strong relationship with China.”
The visiting leader smiled and looked at ease in his first formal meeting with the U.S. president. Xi said that his meetings in Washington, to be followed by stops in the Iowa heartland and then California, were aimed not just at better political ties but a deeper friendship with the American people.
Privately, Obama told Xi he was disappointed with China’s veto of the U.N. Syria effort, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed meeting. Obama pressed Xi anew over China’s currency, which the U.S. says is undervalued, but praised China for helping to keep pressure on Iran regarding its disputed nuclear program.
