US offers warm welcome to China's next leader

WASHINGTON: China's likely next leader Xi Jinping was feted with head-of-state-style honors Tuesday by President Barack Obama, who has his own sights set on steering US-Beijing ties in a second four-year term.

Obama, seeking reelection in November, met Xi, expected to assume full power as China's top leader next year, in a preview of a possible new era for the world's most crucial 21st-century political and economic relationship.

The two men spoke for an extended Oval Office meeting of 85 minutes, as Xi was shepherded through a full program by US Vice President Joe Biden, and enjoyed the rare honor of a 19-gun salute with booming cannons at the Pentagon.

The welcome, exceedingly rare for a mere vice president, reflected the importance Washington places in its relationship with Beijing, though did not paper over wide differences on economics and geopolitics.

And noisy protests from Tibetan protestors around the White House and the US Chamber of Commerce where Xi gave a speech, reflected thorny human rights questions which have tested 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." (AFP)