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Hu Faces Critics in US Congress

21 January 2011 04:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Chinese President Hu Jintao has arrived in the midwestern U.S. city of Chicago, following his state visit with the president and lawmakers in Washington, DC, APA reports quoting voanews.com website.
Mr. Hu was greeted Thursday evening at Chicago’s main airport by Mayor Richard Daley, who has worked hard to promote relations between his city and the Asian nation.
Daley has made four trips to China since 2004, and encouraged the growth of Chinese language and cultural institutions in his city.
President Hu is scheduled to spend two days in Chicago, where he is to highlight cultural contacts and attend a contract-signing ceremony.
Earlier in the day he faced a sterner welcome in Congress, where House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said he and his colleagues raised their â€œstrong, ongoing concernsâ€ about reports of human rights violations in China.
Mr. Hu acknowledged Wednesday at a news conference with U.S. President Barack Obama that â€œa lotâ€ must still be done to improve human rights in his country.
President Hu also addressed business executives Thursday, telling them the world economy is growing, but there are still many uncertainties and destabilizing factors. He said the United States and China must work together to help achieve a full recovery.
Mr. Hu said the two nations must treat each other with respect and handle sensitive issues in what he described as â€œthe proper manner.â€ Otherwise, he said, the relationship will face constant trouble or tension. He mentioned issues related to Taiwan and Tibet as an example, saying they concern China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
But Mr. Hu said it is normal for the U.S. and China to have disagreements, and said the two nations should prevent their relationship from being held back by any individual incident.
Boehner said â€œcurtailing the aggressive behavior of North Koreaâ€ also was on the agenda for Mr. Hu’s talks with House lawmakers. After those talks, Mr. Hu met with members of the U.S. Senate.
U.S. lawmakers have expressed anger about China’s currency and economic policies, which many lawmakers believe are taking away American jobs. Legislation has already been introduced in Congress calling for tariffs on Chinese imports if Beijing continues to keep the value of the yuan artificially low. Mr. Obama said Wednesday a higher yuan would help address the huge trade imbalance between the two nations.
At the White House Wednesday, President Obama and Mr. Hu vowed to deepen cooperation, while acknowledging their nations’ differences.