Preview to Obama's visit to China

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to begin his first visit to China Sunday night, a country he views as a vital partner as well as competitor.

Jon Huntsman, America's ambassador to China, says he expects the president's three-day visit and his talks with Chinese leaders in Beijing to take bilateral ties to a new high. But a Sino-American relations analyst says the summit meeting will be a broad exchange of views on various issues and extend the foundation for the two countries' common interests. Wang Ling has more.

Reporter:

Jon Huntsman, the American ambassador to China, is convinced that President Obama's trip will push bilateral ties to an unprecedented, new high.

"It is a very exciting period in the bilateral relationship. And I have no doubt that President Barack Obama will be very successful in this visit in taking this relationship to new heights in allowing people in China to better understand the United States and what we stand for and our vision for engagement in the Pacific region, and in the longer term, the importance of the U.S.-China relationship."

Huntsman says issues remain on the table in the two countries' bilateral relations, but insists that their exchanges and cooperation on global issues will, in turn, help build on the bilateral ties.

Huntsman's view is echoed by Professor Xiong Zhiyong, a Sino-U.S. relations expert from the Foreign Affairs College in Beijing. He believes the shared concerns and interests on broader issues are bringing the two countries even closer together.

"The first one is the stability of the world situation. Both China and the U.S. want to keep the world stable and peaceful. The second one is that both countries are concerned about economic development. We have common interest in certain areas; for example, in the Korean Peninsula and in (developing) new energy. All these things bring the two countries closer and closer. "

On this point, Professor Xiong says Obama's visit will offer a good chance for both leaders to get to know each other better and to enlarge the landscape for cooperation.

"I believe they can reach something in principle; for example, the promise to make common efforts to fight the financial crisis and to have closer discussion on a wider range of issues both bilateral and international. I think this summit talk is a good chance for the leaders to exchange views in order to promote understanding between them."

Professor Xiong also says he expects the summit talks to ignite public interest and attention about the importance of the bilateral relations. This is something that Ambassador Huntsman also stressed in anticipation of Obama's meetings in Beijing.

"I think it is very true that unless our people develop a better sense of understanding and trust through student exchanges, through government-to-government discussions, through opportunities to travel back and forth; I think things like this over time will be extremely important in getting the result of a relationship based on deeper understanding and trust. "

For CRI, this is Wang Ling.