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China VP to meet US lawmakers
China's heir apparent Xi Jinping will meet US lawmakers critical of Beijing on Wednesday before heading to the heartland state of Iowa for a reunion with ordinary Americans he met on a 1985 exchange.
Obama, seeking reelection in November, on Tuesday met Xi, who is expected to assume the Chinese presidency in 2013
US concerns over trade policy and human rights could come to the fore as Xi meets top US legislators in an election season that has seen Republican White House candidates accuse US President Barack Obama of being soft on Beijing.
Xi can expect a friendlier audience with business leaders later on Wednesday, when he gives a speech before traveling to Muscatine, Iowa to meet residents he came to know as a low-level official more than 25 years ago.
Obama, seeking reelection in November, on Tuesday met Xi, who is expected to assume the Chinese presidency in 2013. Vice President Joe Biden took Xi through a full program.
Tibetan protestors around the White House reflected human rights questions that have ruffled Sino-US relations for 40 years.
Obama said that Washington welcomed a "prosperous" China and praised its "extraordinary development over the last two decades," but stressed that rising power for Beijing came with "increased responsibilities."
He also stressed that the United States intended to remain a power in the Asia-Pacific region, following testy exchanges over China's territorial claims in the South China Sea during Obama's trip to Asia in November.
