Posted on 11/17/2009 6:50:56 PM PST by Steelfish
Obama In China Faces Currency Strains And A Great Wall
Caren Bohan and Patricia Zengerle
BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama will continue efforts to court China on Wednesday while cajoling it on economic and currency strains, with the final day of his visit featuring talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Obama's first visit to China has been a mix of goodwill displays toward its sometimes wary people and leaders and closed-door discussions focused on the two big powers' vast and increasingly complex relationship.
Wednesday will be no different. Obama will visit the Great Wall -- for Chinese people a proud symbol of their imperial heritage -- and he may also press Wen, the head of the Chinese government, on touchy economic and diplomatic issues.
Obama made plain in a summit with President Hu Jintao on Tuesday that one of his top concerns was China's currency policy. Many in Washington and other capitals believe Beijing keeps the yuan too low in value, putting competitors at a disadvantage and distorting global economic flows.
Hu, who is also the head of China's Communist Party, did not mention the yuan or the dollar in his comments before reporters.
But Wen, who is more deeply involved in day-to-day economic affairs, may be more willing to grapple with Obama on currency and China's own gripes with U.S. trade rules.
Officials and experts from both sides have stressed, however, that Obama's visit will not bring about immediate policy shifts.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
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