Chinese officials listened to a speech by President Obama, in which he described ties between the two countries as "important as any bilateral relationship in the world." Brendan Smialowski for The New York TimesFrom The New York Times:
WASHINGTON — The United States and China inaugurated two days of high-level talks on Monday, exchanging promises of great-power cooperation on weighty issues like climate change while steering clear of potential conflicts over exchange rates and human rights.
President Obama, saying that ties between the countries are as “important as any bilateral relationship in the world,” welcomed senior Chinese leaders to the meetings here, which were jointly led by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner.
“I have no illusions that the United States and China will agree on every issue, nor choose to see the world in the same way,” Mr. Obama said. “But that only makes dialogue more important.”
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My Comment: President Obama tells the Chinese to open their borders for American goods. My question is .... what can we sell them since they can build anything cheaper with their "slave" laborers.
This is the disconnect in the U.S. - Chinese relationship. We need the Chinese more than they need us .... and they know it. China's focus is to form alliances and business relationships with countries and companies that can assist them in meeting their natural resource needs. The U.S. interest is to use China to finance their debt .... an endeavor that the Chinese are becoming reluctant to support .... and to work with China to control the nuclear aspirations of North Korea .... another endeavor that the Chinese feel is a waste of their time.
Our the National Security and Defense level .... there are U.S. concerns on China's increase in military expenditures. But when put into perspective with the American buildup .... the Chinese have a long way to go.