China

Hu says China not seeking arms race or domination

Hu Jintao: ''Working together hand-in-hand we will build and develop a China-US co-operative partnership''

Chinese President Hu Jintao has said China has no interest in pursuing an arms race or exerting military dominance over other nations.

On the third day of his visit to the US, Mr Hu called for co-operation on economic and security issues.
Mr Hu met leading US politicians and was quizzed on a number of issues, before departing for Chicago.
There he was to meet Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and other business and political leaders.
Mr Daley has visited China four times since 2004 and has promoted the city, America's third-largest, as a global transportation hub with a large and capable manufacturing sector.
Chicago is Mr Hu's only stop in the US outside the US capital.

In a speech earlier at a Washington DC lunch with senior US officials and business leaders from firms like General Electric, Coca-cola and Boeing, Mr Hu pledged China would "remain committed to the path of peaceful development".
He said: "We do not engage in arms races, we are not a military threat to any country. China will never seek to dominate or pursue an expansionist policy."
The Chinese leader said the relationship between the US and China had historically enjoyed "smooth and steady growth" when the two nations considered each other's interests.
Chinese foreign influence He repeatedly touched on issues that sharply divide the US and China during his speech, saying the two nations must treat each other as equals based on "mutual respect".

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Hu Jintao's itinerary

• 18 Jan: Arrives in Washington, has private dinner with US President Barack Obama
• 19 Jan: Series of bilateral meetings followed by joint press conference; lunch with Vice-President Joe Biden; formal state dinner
• 20 Jan: Visits Capitol Hill to meet congressional leaders; departs for Chicago
• 21 Jan: Leaves Chicago for Beijing

• China's media positive over Hu's US visit
• What China and the US want from visit

The Chinese president then moved his attention toward concerns US leaders have expressed over China's influence in the rest of Asia.

"Taiwan and Tibet-related issues concern Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity," Mr Hu said, adding that they "touch upon the national sentiments of 1.3 billion Chinese".
The Chinese government is currently in control of Tibet and considers the self-governing island of Taiwan, which separated from China amid civil war in 1949, to be part of its territory.
Earlier on Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner, a leading Republican, said he had raised the need for tougher intellectual property protections and improved human rights at a meeting with Mr Hu on Capitol Hill.
In a statement, Mr Boehner said he had also voiced concerns about "curtailing the aggressive behaviour of North Korea".

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Just hearing a Chinese president deal with direct questions on human rights is incredibly rare. In China the heavily state-controlled media doesn't pose them”

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Damian Grammaticas BBC News, Beijing

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• Read Damian's thoughts in full

Congressional lawmakers have also been critical of China's policy on its currency, the yuan, charging that Beijing keeps it artificially depressed in order to aid China's exporters.

The Chinese president held separate talks with Mr Boehner and Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader.
Both Mr Boehner and Mr Reid turned down invitations to Wednesday's White House state dinner for Mr Hu, with Mr Reid going so far as to call Mr Hu "a dictator" in an interview with KSNV television, before retracting the remark.
Mr Hu said on Wednesday that China still needed to do "a lot" over human rights, following a meeting at the White House with US President Barack Obama.
Foreign business interests Newly released figures show China's GDP grew by a faster-than-expected 10.3% in 2010.
Mr Hu and Mr Obama, who has said the yuan's value must be driven by the market, said they would co-operate on the dispute over China's currency.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Joe Biden told reporters on Thursday that the increase in value of China's yuan had not been enough.
"There has been movement. Not enough," Mr Biden told reporters, adding that the Chinese have shown they recognise the issue.
Following their talks on Wednesday, the president announced business deals with China that he said would create thousands of jobs inside the US.
BBC economics correspondent Andrew Walker said that at current growth rates, China could surpass the US as the world's largest economy during the next decade - although average living standards will still be much lower.
Mr Obama said on Wednesday that China was a target for American exports, which support nearly a half a million US jobs.
Since 2005, US politicians have threatened legislation that would impose duties on Chinese goods to offset currency policies they say keep China's exports artificially cheap.