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ASIA PACIFIC
Obama Welcomes President Xi Jinping of China at White House


By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and JANE PERLEZSEPT. 25, 2015
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President Obama with with President Xi Jinping of China, during an official arrival ceremony on the South Grounds of the White House, on Friday. CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times


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WASHINGTON — President Obama on Friday rolled out an elaborate White House welcome for President Xi Jinping of China, projecting a strong partnership between the world’s two largest economies even as the leaders prepared to hash out a range of contentious disputes.

Mr. Obama said the visit reflected a long history of friendship and cooperation between “our two great peoples.”

“When the United States and China work together, it makes our nations and the world more prosperous and secure,” Mr. Obama said.

But in a nod to their substantial disagreements, he added: “Even as our nations cooperate, I believe, and I know that you agree, we must address our differences candidly.”

As the two presidents greeted each other, the shouts of protesters assembled with banners and flags near the White House to criticize Mr. Xi could be heard faintly on the South Lawn.
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The United States and China are working to put forward the best face possible on the gathering, the first in-person meeting between Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi since last year in Beijing.Continue reading the main story
Xi Jinping’s Visit to the U.S.

See more Times coverage of the run-up to Mr. Xi’s first state visit to the U.S.





A Weighty Agenda and a Busy Schedule

Xi Arrives at a Moment of Vulnerability

Fading Coal Industry in China May Offer Chance to Aid Climate



American officials leaked word late Thursday of a broad agreement between the two leaders on climate change, including a landmark commitment Mr. Xi will make to begin a national cap-and-trade program in 2017 that places an annual limit on greenhouse gas emissions and allows companies to buy and sell permits to pollute.

The two presidents are expected to point to their cooperation on combating the planet’s warming as evidence of their ability to put aside differences and use their heft on the global stage to tackle major problems, while also intensifying pressure on other nations to follow their leads and commit to ambitious emissions-reducing goals as part of a worldwide climate pact to be negotiated at a December summit meeting in Paris.

But Mr. Obama also plans to press Mr. Xi on an array of topics that divide them, including cyberattacks for which he has threatened sanctions against China, the Chinese military’s reclamation of islands and atolls in disputed areas of the South China Sea, and human rights.

American and Chinese officials have been intensely negotiating to reach a deal on cyberissues, an irritant in their relationship that has festered for two years and one that has taken on new urgency at the White House after a hacking episode at the Office of Personnel Management that allowed the theft of 22 million security dossiers and 5.6 million fingerprints. They have been discussing a pact that would set minimum standards for the use of cyberweapons, such as a mutual commitment not to attack each other’s critical infrastructure during peacetime.

But they are unlikely to bridge a sizable gap on state-sponsored cybertheft of intellectual property or personal information, one of the most delicate areas.

Mr. Obama will press Mr. Xi about his recent moves to build runways and other infrastructure on artificial islands in contested parts of the South China Sea, which American officials fear could be a precursor to military action there, even as the Chinese argue it is a regional issue in which the United States should not interfere.Continue reading the main story

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The White House also said Mr. Obama will raise with Mr. Xi his concern about the country’s proposed legislation on foreign nongovernmental organizations, which the White House regards as a way of restricting the rights of civil society groups, academics and others in the name of security.

There will be glimmers of agreement beyond climate change, however, including on economic issues. The two leaders will most likely reiterate their determination to work together on an investment treaty, although they are unlikely to make progress on it during this visit. They are also aiming for a deal to expand educational exchanges between their two countries. And there is likely to be an agreement on rules governing episodes involving Chinese and American military aircraft, aimed at avoiding accidents or confrontations.

Their meetings began Thursday night with a working dinner at Blair House, across the street from the White House, where Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi, along with senior members of their administrations, spent about two and a half hours in private discussions. The two presidents are sitting down together on Friday in the Oval Office and then holding a separate, larger official meeting in the Cabinet Room before appearing in the Rose Garden for a formal news conference.

While Mr. Xi and Mr. Obama were ensconced inside Blair House, the Chinese Foreign Ministry did something quite revolutionary, if not entirely illuminating. The director general of the Information Department, Lu Kang, held an on-the-record briefing for reporters from American and foreign news organizations based in Washington. During past visits of Chinese presidents, information from the Chinese has been difficult to get, and spokesmen were usually elusive. Any briefings were held for the benefit of Chinese reporters, and conducted in Chinese.

Mr. Lu, whose English is fluent and colloquial, spoke before Mr. Jinping and Mr. Obama had finished their meeting — billed as an informal affair held in the more relaxed atmosphere of the president’s guesthouse across the street from the White House. The two men, accompanied by a handful of aides, would hold a free-ranging discussion over dinner like “two friends who know each other quite well,” Mr. Lu said.

A photo released by Xinhua, the state-run news agency, at the start of the dinner showed the two leaders in the doorway of Blair House — Mr. Obama with his arms folded and Mr. Xi standing opposite him, beaming.

Since the dinner was still underway when Mr. Lu spoke, and it is not the Chinese official style to talk candidly about disagreements, it was difficult for Mr. Lu to offer anything definitive on the important issues like cybertheft and China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

He also swatted away a question about Mr. Xi’s visit being overshadowed by the huge crowds who turned out for Pope Francis. Each leader’s visit had its “own bearing,” Mr. Lu said. Washington had accorded Mr. Xi a special honor by giving big advance notice to the summit, he said. “It is very rare for the United States government to announce a state visit seven months before.”


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