Obama’s personal ties with Xi yield mixed policy results

The state dinner is happening on National Lobster Day.

A coalition of vocal anti-Beijing organizations was pitched on one side of the divide in Lafayette Square.

Chinese-American chef Anita Lo will work with Comerford and her staff to prepare the menu, which the White House said is inspired by autumn and highlights “American cuisine with nuances of Chinese flavours”.

“China and the US are good partners now, with Boeing and Microsoft”, Hu said. They wore the same T-shirts, showing an eagle and a panda flashing peace signs.

Earlier Tuesday, meetings with governors from five USA states and local Chinese officials produced the deal to work on clean energy.

The rallies were peaceful, although witnesses said police had to separate a minor scuffle at the divide between the two groups. The two leaders are meeting amid tensions over alleged Chinese cyber spying, Beijing’s economic policies and China’s regional territorial disputes.

He added: “This is China”.

Xi said China wanted disputes to be settled peacefully and respects freedom of navigation and overflight in the area that is crucial to global trade. Potentially the most sensitive issue that will come between Obama and Xi is hacking, following the huge intrusion into the Office of Personnel Management in June that US officials have blamed on China. He also says China has affirmed the principle that governments don’t engage in cyberespionage against companies.

In a call with reporters Tuesday previewing the visit, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said that although the USA prefers diplomacy, cybersecurity will be “an important” topic of discussion, and that the US will make clear that punishments are on the table.

The issue of cyber attacks is a sensitive one between the two nations. Obama has declined to publicly assign blame to China for that breach.

On Friday they will outline new and existing domestic measures to show the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses are serious about reaching those targets and will “lead the world toward a durable global climate agreement”, the us official said. Obama describes it as a common understanding of the way forward.

The climate deal will be a substantial, if rare, bright spot in a wide-ranging summit meeting that is expected to be dominated by potential sources of friction between Obama and Xi. The US for years has accused Beijing of sponsoring and benefiting from hacking American businesses to steal valuable intellectual property – but it starkly ramped up its harsh words as the visit drew near.

The White House says the agreement covers trade secrets and other confidential business information where the intent is to provide a competitive advantage to a country’s companies or commercial sectors.

Under last year’s groundbreaking agreement, Obama set a goal to cut USA emissions between 26 percent and 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels.

The system, to be unveiled during a summit in Washington between presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, would expand pilot programs rolled out in seven cities and provinces since 2013. That’s prompted it to drop its insistence that developed nations bear most of the responsibility for reducing carbon emissions, producing a rare area of cooperation with Washington. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they wouldn’t pre-empt China’s official announcement, say it’s hoped the announcement will give impetus to a broader global treaty on climate change in December. Rebiya Kadeer (reb-EE-yah kah-DEER), an exiled minority Uighur leader, called for political prisoners to be released. The name means “precious treasure”.

Obama and Xi were expected to have discussed security issues during a private dinner Thursday night at the Blair House, a guest residence just a short walk from the White House.

Obama, in turn, said, “The United States will always speak out on behalf of fundamental truths”.

The top story on the online news portal Sina on Friday morning was that Xi and Obama went for a casual, no-tie look on an evening stroll around the White House.

Visiting Seattle on the first leg of his trip, Xi denied involvement by the Chinese government and pledged to work with the United States to fight cyber crime.

Perhaps no issue is getting more attention in the lead-up to Xi’s visit than cybersecurity.

Many in Beijing, meanwhile, suspect Obama’s “rebalancing” of USA power toward Asia and a vast pan-Pacific trade pact excluding China are no more than a bid to contain their civilization’s rightful rise, despite the President’s repeated denials. This time, it’s for Chinese President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng).