United States President Barack Obama raised the issue of Tibet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a joint press conference on Friday, along with addressing a range of critical issues between the world’s top two economic and military powers.
Advertisement
The 51-year-old, a dazzling presence alongside husband and US President Barack Obama, succeeded in appeasing local designers while also scoring diplomatic points with the Chinese thanks to her sartorial savvy.
Obama hosted Xi Jinping and Madame Lady Peng Liyuan for an official White House State Dinner that Friday evening. She covered her baby bump in a sleeveless, red lace gown. On Friday, however, the menu appeared largely American, including poached Maine lobster and Colorado lamb.
At an extraordinary joint news conference, Obama chided China on its treatment of dissidents and insisted hacking attacks on United States firms must stop, even as he thanked Xi for his commitment on climate change.
“The question now is: Are words followed by action?” These territories have belonged to China for centuries and we have documentation of our fishermen and explorers laying claim to these islands centuries ago.This was not disputed and we had no problems in the SCS until the 1970s when oil was found and smaller countries began to invade Chinese territories. Chinese companies gain an unfair and immoral advantage by not investing their own capital in research and development and simply stealing the hard work of American investors and innovators.
“We will apply those, and whatever other tools we have in our tool kit, to go after cybercriminals either retrospectively or prospectively”, he said.
The black-tie dinner is being held in honor of Xi, who is in Washington on a state visit. (Ironically, the Chinese government has been documenting its President’s visit in a widely regularly updated Facebook page that no one in China can access.) Companies and institutions, from University of Washington to Boeing and Microsoft announced a plethora of deals with Chinese institutions and corporations that suggest robust economic and people-to-people connections.
The Chinese people would never forget the assistance provided by the Americans, he added. The group included young Chinese studying in the US and members of Chinese-American associations.
“We will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapon state”, Obama said.
Senior US officials said the Obama administration had been preparing a package of sanctions in recent weeks aimed at China and other nations over cyberthefts of intellectual property.
Observers, including Segal, said that despite distractions, the visit was an encouraging step forward for the two countries, which have been bogged down by disagreements over hacking, human rights and economic policies.
Chinese media took a decidedly more optimistic stance.
Dreamworks CEO and Democratic Party mega donor Jeffry Katzenberg said he was at the White House for “fun” and not business, but the guest list – and especially the head table – read like a who’s who of Silicon Valley and Hollywood.
He also touched upon important issues including cyber security, corruption, and affirmed that China’s economy is in fine fettle. “We will be watching carefully to make an assessment as to what progress has been made in this area”.
Advertisement
“So I propose a toast: To the people of China and the people of the United States, may they work together like fingers on the same hand in friendship and peace”.
