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Zhuang Pinghui

Beijing yesterday sidestepped US President Barack Obama's public remarks about the speed and "dangers" of President Xi Jinping's consolidation of personal power.
Obama, who met Xi last month in Beijing, told the Business Roundtable group of US chief executives that the Chinese leader had won respect in the short time since he had taken over.
"He has consolidated power faster and more comprehensively than probably anybody since Deng Xiaoping ," Obama said, referring to the man who led China from 1978 to 1992.
"And everybody's been impressed by his … clout inside of China after only a year and a half or two years."
But Obama said there were negative sides to Xi's rise.
"There are dangers in that. On issues of human rights, on issues of clamping down on dissent. He taps into a nationalism that worries his neighbours," Obama said, noting maritime disputes in the region.
"On the other hand, I think they have a very strong interest in maintaining good relations with the United States. And my visit was a demonstration of their interest in managing this relationship effectively."

The United States should be "cautious and clear-eyed" about its relationship with China, Obama said, adding that he would still seek a "productive" bilateral relationship.
He said the US wanted to show China that it wanted a constructive "win-win" relationship while also insisting on fixing problems such as commercial cybertheft.
Obama encouraged the chief executives to speak out when they were being "strong-armed" on those issues despite risks that their businesses could be penalised in China for doing so.
Later yesterday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing needed to study Obama's comments in detail before responding, adding that in principle, the steady development of ties suited both countries.
"It is only natural that we have different points of view on certain issues, but our common interests outweigh our differences," Hua said.
Tao Wenzhao, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that rather than expressing such opinions Obama should have shown mutual respect and tried to understand China's position, its development path and government.
"The president of the United States, even with some constraints, has great powers, yet you don't see China giving comments on that issue," Tao said.
Jin Canrong, deputy dean of Renmin University's school of international studies in Beijing, said Obama was entitled to his own opinion and the comments would not have any impact on Sino-US relations.
"Such careless comments indicate that the two countries' relations are very stable, otherwise he would have been very careful with what he said," Jin said.
Additional reporting by Reuters and Kyodo
 


Beijing ‘needs more time’ to respond to Obama’s take on Xi’s power

US President Barack Obama warns about the negative sides to Xi Jinpng's rise of power. Photo: AP

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a news conference with US President Barack Obama in Beijing last month. Photo: Reuters

News

China

Foreign ministry says it needs to study US president's comments before replying


Beijing yesterday sidestepped US President Barack Obama's public remarks about the speed and "dangers" of President Xi Jinping's consolidation of personal power.
