By Qin Jize (China Daily)
BEIJING: President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama on Friday pledged to increase cooperation, a move analysts said is a fresh sign of efforts to patch up strained ties.
Answering a phone call made by Obama from Air Force One, Hu said that Sino-US relations had shown "good momentum for development" since Obama took office, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.
He said he wanted to see healthy ties between two of the world's influential nations, but stressed that the "appropriate" handling of issues related to Taiwan and Tibet were key to stable development of ties.
Hu also told Obama that the two nations should resolve trade disputes through negotiations but neither leader touched on the topic of the Chinese currency, according to remarks published on Friday.
Obama reassured Hu that the US fully adhered to the one-China policy and would continue to recognize it as China's core interest.
Only days ago, he conveyed the same message to the new Chinese ambassador to the US, Zhang Yesui.
Obama welcomed Hu's attendance at the nuclear security summit, to be held April 12-13 in Washington, and called for more cooperation with China on international security affairs and other global challenges.
Obama appealed to Hu for the two countries to cooperate on the Iranian nuclear issue, stressing "the importance of working together to ensure that Iran lives up to its obligations," a US source quoted Obama as saying.
The New York Times reported that Obama spoke with Hu for about an hour, a chat that lasted so long that Air Force One had to be held for 10 minutes on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base after landing so that Obama could finish the conversation.
A source close to the matter told China Daily that Obama's call "represents a climax of the US effort" to mend ties soured by US arms sales to Taiwan, Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama and trade disputes.
More than 100 US lawmakers are pushing the White House to declare China a "currency manipulator" in its twice-yearly currency report, due by April 15.
The Obama administration will defer a decision on whether to name China a currency manipulator until well after Hu visits Washington for the nuclear security summit, the New York Times reported on Friday.
The paper, citing an administration official, said the decision reflected a judgment that threatening China was not the most effective way to persuade Beijing to allow the yuan to appreciate against the US dollar.
Chen Fengying, a Beijing-based economist, said it's possible that the US Congress, instead, would pass a non-binding resolution and continue to press China to liberalize its exchange rate regime.
"We have to be prepared for such a bill, which is aimed at raising tariffs on Chinese exports. It will probably come out in May as the Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue will be held at the time," Chen said.
She said both Beijing and Washington need to compromise on the currency issue and enhance coordination of macro-economic policy to resolve the trade dispute under the global macro-environment.
Former diplomat Ma Zhengang said Beijing has adopted a positive stance on recent US remarks and Hu's attendance at the nuclear summit reflects warming ties.
However, he noted that if Washington fails to keep its commitments and tries to destroy the hard-won achievement after the summit, like labeling China a currency manipulator, it is difficult to repair bilateral ties again.
China Daily
