【2009.11.17 纽约时报】In Obama Trip, Signs of New Era in China Relations

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/world/asia/18prexy.html

By EDWARD WONG and HELENE COOPER
Published: November 17, 2009

BEIJING — President Obama and President Hu Jintao of China met in private off Tiananmen Square here on a frigid Tuesday morning to discuss cooperating on issues like trade, climate change and the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea, in a session that signaled the central role of China on the world stage and that highlighted the different approaches that it and the United States are taking on urgent problems around the globe.

The leaders insisted to reporters afterward that the United States and China were in agreement on a range of issues, and that the countries had affirmed commitments to work together to resolve their conflicts, but they spoke only in general terms, raising doubts about whether the two countries could easily bridge the gaps.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Obama toured the Forbidden City before arriving at the American Embassy to give a speech to employees there.

Some analysts said the news conference was notable more for spelling out the points on which the two nations disagreed than for presenting any substantial agreements reached.

Also noteworthy was the range of issues on which the United States was asking China’s help, something that might have been unthinkable before the United States became embroiled in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and before its economy was hobbled by the global financial crisis that began on its shores. China, meanwhile, has so far weathered the financial crisis in relatively good form.

“Before the financial crisis, the U.S. was in a world leader position,” said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at the People’s University of China in Beijing. “Now, with China and the United States, maybe we see that the U.S. depends on the China for more issues than China depends on the U.S.”

Neither of the presidents took questions from reporters, staying in line with the minutely stage-managed atmosphere of Mr. Obama’s first visit to China, which began on Sunday. They said in separate speeches that the two nations would work together to stabilize the teetering world economy, contain the dangers of climate change and prevent nuclear proliferation. Later, the White House released a joint statement from the two leaders stressing those points and giving a few more details regarding each.

The public pronouncements made throughout the day were full of familiar rhetoric. At the start of their first meeting, Mr. Obama told Mr. Hu: “We believe strong dialogue is important not only for the U.S. and China, but for the rest of the world.”

Mr. Hu, in the news conference, said: “During the talks, I underlined to President Obama that given our differences in national conditions, it is only normal that our two sides may disagree on some issues. What is important is to respect and accommodate each other’s core interests and major concerns.”

From the news conference and the joint statement, the first issued by leaders of the two countries since 1998, it appeared that the bulk of the meetings consisted of the sides affirming their positions on the wide-ranging issues. Chinese leaders, for instance, said the U.S. should avoid protectionism, a reference to the spate of tariffs that have recently been levied against Chinese-manufactured goods. President Hu notably did not make any nod toward changing the value of the Chinese currency, the renminbi, which American officials have been pushing for in order to help American exporters.

President Obama said he respects Chinese sovereignty over Tibet and the one-China policy, a reference to sovereignty over Taiwan, but also urged China to talk to the Dalai Lama, whom Chinese leaders accuse of being a “splittist,” and said the United States would continue to abide by the Taiwan Relations Act, which mandates sales of arms of a defensive nature to Taiwan.

Even on climate change, an issue that the Obama administration had prioritized earlier this year in hopes that it would provide a platform for bilateral cooperation, the two countries did not seem close.

Analysts say the fact that crucial legislation on climate change has stagnated in Congress has undermined the negotiating power of the United States. China, meanwhile, continues to assert that any environmental measures taken must be balanced with the need for economic growth.

“Since China and the U.S. have totally different national conditions, they should take actions respectively in light of such realities on the ground,” He Yafei, a vice minister of foreign affairs, told reporters at a news conference in the afternoon.

The Americans also held a news conference, at almost the same time, in which a senior White House official said it would have been unrealistic to expect huge breakthroughs during the morning sessions.

“I do not think that we expected the waters would part and everything would change over the course of our 2.5 days in China,” he said.

The joint statement indicated that there would be many more rounds of talks ahead on all the major issues: more talks to discuss how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, more talks on how China could help bring peace to South Asia and, of course, more talks on the trade gap. Currency valuation and trade issues are the top priorities in a series of continuing bilateral talks between the two countries called the Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

“I think that disagreements are still there,” said Mr. Shi, the professor at People’s University. “Most of them have not substantially changed. This effort, by both leaders, shows they understand that they should do better in agreeing to disagree and in controlling the disputes, whether those are over Iran or trade or over Taiwan. Both leaders have increased their determination to control the disputes, to prevent disputes from spoiling the relations.”

The leaders greeted each other at the door of the Great Hall of the People after Mr. Obama’s motorcade slithered its way past thousands of onlookers crowding around Tiananmen Square, in front of the giant portrait of Mao, to catch a glimpse of the American president.

The leaders shook hands and walked up the red carpet, Chinese military leaders facing them. At the conference table where the first bilateral meeting was held, Mr. Obama sat flanked by senior cabinet members, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Lawrence H. Summers, director of the National Economic Council.

The meeting between Mr. Obama and Mr. Hu came the day after Mr. Obama tried to hold a frank and public discussion with Chinese students in Shanghai. The event was called a town hall, but Mr. Obama’s meeting with about 500 students had little in common with the sometimes raucous exchanges that have become a fixture of American politics.

It was, instead, an example of Chinese stagecraft. Most of those who attended the event at the Museum of Science and Technology turned out to be members of the Communist Youth League, an official organization that grooms obedient students for future leadership posts.

Some Chinese bloggers whom the White House had tried to invite were barred from attending. Even then, the Chinese government took no chances, declining to broadcast the event live to a national audience — or even mention it on the main evening newscast of state-run China Central Television.

The scripted interaction underscored the obstacles Mr. Obama faces as he tries to manage the American relationship with an authoritarian China, whose wealth and clout have surged as its economy has weathered the global downturn far better than the United States’ or Europe’s.

chandlerbing

领之。

chandlerbing

翻译完毕~

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