China leader to get state dinner reception

China leader to get state dinner, but a tough reception

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama welcomes China's leader Tuesday as Hu Jintao begins a three-day Washington visit that will include a state dinner at the White House for the first time in 13 years.

Hu apparently felt snubbed at the lack of a state dinner when he visited George W. Bush five years ago, and it is hoped Wednesday's opulent, black-tie affair with Obama — the grandest of White House soirees — could help smooth the latest tensions between the world's two largest economies.

However, amid the pomp, it's likely that Hu will also face some tough meetings. The New York Times pointed to tough statements made by several cabinet officials in recent days, saying they indicated the administration was seeking to take an assertive stance with the Chinese leader.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned the U.S. would step up military investment to counter China's increasing military strength; Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said China should allow its currency to gain value and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the country's human rights record, raising the case of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.

"There's been this well-orchestrated and clearly well thought-out campaign, over the past two weeks, involving the secretary of state, Treasury, defense and commerce making strong statements regarding currency, the trade imbalance, human rights and China's military stance," David Rothkopf, a national security expert who worked in President Bill Clinton's administration, told the Times.
"So you're welcoming the leader of the most important rival power in the world into the capital, and the way you pave his entrance into the city is laid with these four big thorny issues," he added.

Trouble during last visit
The April 2006 summit did not pass off completely smoothly.

The Chinese leader was upset by the lack of a state dinner — Bush held few of such formal events but was also sensitive to human rights concerns.

A ceremony on the White House's South Lawn was also disrupted by a woman protesting China's treatment of the banned Falun Gong religious movement. Bush apologized after he and Hu went into the Oval Office.

And then a White House announcer called China the "Republic of China," which is the formal name for Taiwan, the democratic island that China claims as its territory.

For this year's visit, workers began preparing the South Lawn for the arrival ceremony on Monday, and U.S. and Chinese flags flapped in the breeze on Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the Capitol.

The state dinner will only be Obama's third, following those for India in 2008 and Mexico last year.

"This time, China is getting everything that it wants in terms of the symbols of a visit," said Bonnie Glaser, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who focuses on China.
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However, the visit will include at least one opportunity for trouble when the stiff, media-averse, 67-year-old Hu takes questions from reporters Wednesday, a White House demand that could create some awkward moments.

While Hu is seen on state TV in China almost daily, his appearances are always set pieces: speeches, attendance at important meetings or carefully scripted interactions with farmers, workers and students.

The only high-level news conference of the year is conducted by his premier, the more personable Wen Jiabao.

Hu has taken questions in public before, notably at a 2005 news conference with President George W. Bush in Beijing. But he refused to do so when Obama visited in 2009; instead, the two leaders stood stiffly in the Great Hall of the People and read statements to reporters.

On the eve of this trip, Hu submitted written answers to questions from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Skilled ballroom dancer
Though Hu is purported to have been a skilled ballroom dancer in his university days, he seems to lack the affinity for public displays that his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, was famous for.

He is known for his photographic memory and meticulous preparation and will likely come well-armed with platitudes and stock answers to deflect questions on sensitive issues such as human rights.

While he may not win the hearts of the American public, he may blunt some of the harsher criticisms, Joseph Cheng, who heads the Contemporary China Research Center at the City University of Hong Kong, said.

"He wants to try to do a little public relations and get his message across," he said.

"China's rising international status is increasingly a source of legitimacy for the government, and Chinese leaders want to exploit this nationalist sentiment as much as they can," he added.

Four questions will be allowed at the news conference, two from Chinese reporters


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