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Obama urges China to resume talks with Dalai Lama

By Jane Macartney | Times Online

US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao following a statement to the press at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 17 November 2009. Obama said while the United States recognised China’s sovereignty over Tibet, he urged China for an “early resumption” of talks with the representatives of the Dalai Lama.AFP/Getty Images/Mandel Ngan/China

US President Barack Obama emerged from talks with his Chinese counterpart to urge Beijing to resume talks with the exiled Dalai Lama, while President Hu Jintao issued a thinly veiled barb against US protectionism.

The meeting between the leaders of the world’s lone superpower and its fast-rising challenger lasted longer than expected, with about two and a half hours of private conversations in the ornate rooms of the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing.

Outside, the Stars and Stripes fluttered in a freezing winter wind beside the red Chinese flag in Tiananmen Square. Inside, the two leaders appeared intent on minimising their differences without brushing disputes under the carpet.

Mr Obama summed up the power that China has achieved on the back of jaw-dropping economic growth that leaves it poised next year to overtake Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy, stressing that both must play their roles on the world stage. He said: “The relationship between our two nations goes far beyond any single issue.”

President Hu described the talks as candid, constructive and fruitful.

Immediate achievements were always going to be limited from a summit whose purpose was more to set the tone for the next few years in a relationship that is of growing importance to the United States as its economy struggles to recover.

But Mr Obama did not shy away from issues that risk irking his host. Mr Hu was the first to bring up human rights. The US President then revealed that the two had agreed to resume a human rights dialogue that has been stalled since 2004.

He stressed his belief that human rights were universal and should be available to all and to “all ethnic and religious minorities”. Mr Obama’s reference could only be to Tibetans who chafe under Beijing rule as well as to members of the Muslim Uyghur minority of the northwest who rose up against Chinese rule in July, killing dozens of Han Chinese in the worst ethnic violence in decades.

Mr Obama voiced public recognition of Tibet as a part of China — a remark that Beijing values. But he referred to the exiled monk whom Beijing blames for unrest in Tibet and has branded a “jackal in monk’s robes”. He said Washington supported the early resumption of talks between Beijing and the Dalai Lama “to resolve any concerns or differences the two sides may have”.

President Hu had his own problems with Washington, to which he referred in suitably oblique diplomatic language. After applauding their dialogue on an “equal footing”, he touched on frustration at recent US trade measures against Chinese goods.

“I stressed to President Obama that under the current circumstances our two countries need to oppose and reject protectionism in all its manifestations in an even stronger stance.”

The leaders did not allow their domestic concerns to prevent them from addressing international issues — the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

They agreed that Iran faced “consequences” if it resisted greater openness on its nuclear programme. Mr Obama said he and Mr Hu “agreed that the Islamic Republic of Iran must provide assurances to the international community that its nuclear programme is peaceful and transparent”.

Mr Obama said that on this point the two were unified — important for Washington since Beijing is clearly unwilling to risk its oil supplies by actions that could anger Tehran. China and the US are among six world powers seeking a negotiated end to Iran’s nuclear programmes.

The Times reported today that United Nations and Iranian officials have been secretly negotiating a deal to persuade world powers to lift sanctions and allow Tehran to retain the bulk of its nuclear programme in return for co-operation with UN inspectors.

The UN atomic watchdog on Monday demanded more information from Iran about the purpose of a previously secret nuclear site and indicated the Islamic republic could be hiding other facilities.

Copyright © 2009 Times Newspapers Ltd.

Published in Times Online