Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

Technical problems with simultaneous translations plagued the post-state visit press conference with United States President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday.

Yet the fact that many of the technical snags occurred when Mr. Hu faced questions on China’s human rights record was a fact that left many observers wondering about their timing.

The first set of comments on the thorny bilateral issue of human rights in China, by President Obama, passed through the sound systems unscathed.

Clearly enunciating the U.S. support for human rights and expressing hope that China would do the same, Mr. Obama said that during the state visit, “I reaffirmed America’s fundamental commitment to the universal rights of all people. That includes basic human rights like freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association and demonstration, and of religion – rights that are recognized in the Chinese constitution.”

On the steps forward, he added the U.S. and China had agreed to move ahead with a formal dialogue on human rights and new exchanges to advance the rule of law “while acknowledging there are going to be areas where we disagree.”

He was quick, however, to add that the U.S. recognised that “Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China, [and] the U.S. continues to support further dialogue between the government of China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama to resolve concerns and differences, including the preservation of the religious and cultural identity of the Tibetan people.”

Yet the reporter to whom Mr. Obama had responded had also asked Mr. Hu about how he would justify China’s record on human rights, and if Mr. Hu thought that was a legitimate concern of the American people – yet no answer was forthcoming from the Chinese President, who instead responded a question from another reporter.

But there was no avoiding the issue when a second reporter reiterated his colleagues question and specifically requested a response from President Hu, who then replied, “First, I would like to clarify, because of the technical translation and interpretation problem, I did not hear the question about the human rights... As you raise this question, and I heard the question properly, certainly I am in a position to answer that question.”

Mr. Hu then explained that in over eight meetings he had held thus far with Mr. Obama, China had not shied away from discussing human rights and its position was that “China recognises and also respects the universality of human rights. And at the same time, we do believe that we also need to take into account the different and national circumstances when it comes to the universal value of human rights.”

However while he stressed that China was a developing country that was currently in a “crucial stage of reform,” and still faced many challenges in economic and social development, he conceded, “And a lot still needs to be done in China, in terms of human rights.”

China was willing to continue to have exchanges and dialogue with other countries in terms of human rights, and we are also willing to learn from each other in terms of the good practices, Mr. Hu said, specifically saying that although there were “disagreements between China and the U.S. on the issue of human rights, China is willing to engage in dialogue and exchanges with the U.S. on the basis of mutual respect and the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.”

From The Hindu

This week the state visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao here witnessed a slew of bilateral trade and defence deals being inked across industries, with the White House noting that “China is a key market for U.S. exports. Those exports are generating jobs in every corner of the U.S. and across every major sector.”

The deals signed involved some of the U.S’ largest companies, but also an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises, according to officials, who underscored in particular an agreement for the sale of 200 Boeing airplanes valued at $19 billion.

Officials further said that Chinese companies had signed 70 contracts for $25 billion in U.S. exports from 12 states. “These included sectors ranging from auto parts to agriculture, machinery to chemicals,” according to a statement.

The White House also issued a statement noting that 11 investment contracts were signed worth $3.24 billion and additional transactions were announced or showcased, exceeding $12 billion in total value with approximately $986.8 million in U.S. export content.

Linking these deals to job creation in the U.S. economy, officials noted that the export-boosting transactions would in particular “help support an estimated 235,000 jobs” besides their overall impact of underpinning the “[expansion of] the U.S.-China commercial partnership, contributing to economic growth and development in both countries.”

Touching upon environmentally sustainable dimension of the deals Chinese and U.S. officials said that many of these transactions “highlight the increased collaboration in such areas as clean energy and green technologies.”

Notable among these in the transportation sector is a letter of intent, between the Chinese Ministry of Rail and General Electric, regarding expanding an existing strategic partnership to bring Chinese high-speed rail technology to the U.S.

GE and China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation Limited plan to form a joint venture in the U.S. to manufacture high- and medium-speed electric multiple unit trains, officials confirmed, and this venture could support up to 3,500 U.S. jobs. Overall this plan would support efforts to capture new business opportunities valued at up to $1.4 billion with an estimated $360 million in U.S. export content, a White House statement said.

Other commercial agreements associated with President Hu’s visit to Washington include: General Electric-Shenhua Gasification joint venture; General Electric-Huadian Joint Collaboration Agreement on decentralized energy combined heat and power projects; General Electric-AVIC Avionics joint venture agreement; UPC Management Wind Power agreements; Honeywell—Haier Group Memorandum of Understanding for global strategic cooperation; LP Amina MOU with Beijing Energy; LanzaTech--Bao Steel joint venture to build an ethanol plant; MVP RV – Winston Battery Limited Recreational Vehicle MoU; Caterpillar Inc. – Caterpillar China Investment Co. Ltd. business agreement; LP Amina MOU with Yixing Union Congregation Co. Ltd.; Optimax Systems, Inc – Shanghai Micro-Electronics Equipment Co., Ltd. Precision Optics Sale; Westinghouse Electric Company -- China Baotou Nuclear Fuel (CBNF) Fuel Fabrication Agreement; Westinghouse Electric Company-- China State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) Nuclear Cooperation Agreement; Alcoa and the China Power Investment Corporation MoU; Emberclear and Clean Energy Research Institute Licensing Agreement; and American Electric Power Company – State Grid Corporation of China.