WASHINGTON — President Obama on Friday rolled out an elaborate White House welcome for President Xi Jinping
of China, projecting a strong partnership between the world’s two
largest economies even as the leaders prepared to hash out a range of
contentious disputes.
Mr. Obama said the visit reflected a long history of friendship and cooperation between “our two great peoples.”
“When the United States and China work together, it makes our nations and the world more prosperous and secure,” Mr. Obama said.
But
in a nod to their substantial disagreements, he added: “Even as our
nations cooperate, I believe, and I know that you agree, we must address
our differences candidly.”
As
the two presidents greeted each other, the shouts of protesters
assembled with banners and flags near the White House to criticize Mr.
Xi could be heard faintly on the South Lawn.
The
United States and China are working to put forward the best face
possible on the gathering, the first in-person meeting between Mr. Obama
and Mr. Xi since last year in Beijing.
American officials leaked word late Thursday of a broad agreement between the two leaders on climate change, including a landmark commitment Mr. Xi will make to begin a national cap-and-trade
program in 2017 that places an annual limit on greenhouse gas emissions
and allows companies to buy and sell permits to pollute.
The
two presidents are expected to point to their cooperation on combating
the planet’s warming as evidence of their ability to put aside
differences and use their heft on the global stage to tackle major
problems, while also intensifying pressure on other nations to follow
their leads and commit to ambitious emissions-reducing goals as part of a
worldwide climate pact to be negotiated at a December summit meeting in
Paris.
But
Mr. Obama also plans to press Mr. Xi on an array of topics that divide
them, including cyberattacks for which he has threatened sanctions
against China, the Chinese military’s reclamation of islands and atolls in disputed areas of the South China Sea, and human rights.
American
and Chinese officials have been intensely negotiating to reach a deal
on cyberissues, an irritant in their relationship that has festered for
two years and one that has taken on new urgency at the White House after
a hacking episode at the Office of Personnel Management that allowed
the theft of 22 million security dossiers and 5.6 million fingerprints.
They have been discussing a pact that would set minimum standards for
the use of cyberweapons, such as a mutual commitment not to attack each
other’s critical infrastructure during peacetime.
But
they are unlikely to bridge a sizable gap on state-sponsored cybertheft
of intellectual property or personal information, one of the most
delicate areas.
Mr.
Obama will press Mr. Xi about his recent moves to build runways and
other infrastructure on artificial islands in contested parts of the
South China Sea, which American officials fear could be a precursor to
military action there, even as the Chinese argue it is a regional issue
in which the United States should not interfere.
The
White House also said Mr. Obama will raise with Mr. Xi his concern
about the country’s proposed legislation on foreign nongovernmental
organizations, which the White House regards as a way of restricting the
rights of civil society groups, academics and others in the name of
security.
There
will be glimmers of agreement beyond climate change, however, including
on economic issues. The two leaders will most likely reiterate their
determination to work together on an investment treaty, although they
are unlikely to make progress on it during this visit. They are also
aiming for a deal to expand educational exchanges between their two
countries. And there is likely to be an agreement on rules governing
episodes involving Chinese and American military aircraft, aimed at
avoiding accidents or confrontations.
Their
meetings began Thursday night with a working dinner at Blair House,
across the street from the White House, where Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi,
along with senior members of their administrations, spent about two and a
half hours in private discussions. The two presidents are sitting down
together on Friday in the Oval Office and then holding a separate,
larger official meeting in the Cabinet Room before appearing in the Rose
Garden for a formal news conference.
While
Mr. Xi and Mr. Obama were ensconced inside Blair House, the Chinese
Foreign Ministry did something quite revolutionary, if not entirely
illuminating. The director general of the Information Department, Lu
Kang, held an on-the-record briefing for reporters from American and
foreign news organizations based in Washington. During past visits of
Chinese presidents, information from the Chinese has been difficult to
get, and spokesmen were usually elusive. Any briefings were held for the
benefit of Chinese reporters, and conducted in Chinese.
Mr.
Lu, whose English is fluent and colloquial, spoke before Mr. Xi and Mr.
Obama had finished their meeting — billed as an informal affair held in
the more relaxed atmosphere of the president’s guesthouse across the
street from the White House. The two men, accompanied by a handful of
aides, would hold a free-ranging discussion over dinner like “two
friends who know each other quite well,” Mr. Lu said.
A
photo released by Xinhua, the state-run news agency, at the start of
the dinner showed the two leaders in the doorway of Blair House — Mr.
Obama with his arms folded and Mr. Xi standing opposite him, beaming.
Since
the dinner was still underway when Mr. Lu spoke, and it is not the
Chinese official style to talk candidly about disagreements, it was
difficult for Mr. Lu to offer anything definitive on the important
issues like cybertheft and China’s territorial claims in the South China
Sea.
He
also swatted away a question about Mr. Xi’s visit being overshadowed by
the huge crowds who turned out for Pope Francis. Each leader’s visit
had its “own bearing,” Mr. Lu said. Washington had accorded Mr. Xi a
special honor by giving big advance notice to the summit, he said. “It
is very rare for the United States government to announce a state visit
seven months before.”
Mr. Xi and his entourage would fly to New York on Friday night immediately after a black-tie dinner at the White Hou
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