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| Chinese Leader Declares New ‘Starting Point’ With U.S. at Meeting | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — President Obama and China’s new president, Xi Jinping, arrived at a famed desert estate here on Friday evening for an unusually informal weekend meeting, starting with discussions of security issues that bedevil them, including North Korea’s nuclear threat, on which the United States sees a chance at greater cooperation. | |
| Both leaders promised to use the talks to take the relationship between the United States and China to a new, more cooperative level despite new tensions over cybersecurity. Mr. Xi proclaimed “a new historical starting point,” 40 years after the opening of relations between the two countries, in remarks to reporters just before they began three hours of give-and-take, followed by a working dinner. “I think that both of us agree that continuous and candid and constructive conversation and communication is critically important to shaping our relationship for years to come,” Mr. Obama said. | |
| He added, “The United States welcomes the continuing peaceful rise of China as a world power and that, in fact, it is in the United States’ interest that China continues on the path of success, because we believe that a peaceful and stable and prosperous China is not only good for Chinese but also good for the world and for the United States.” | |
| And Mr. Xi, reflecting his country’s increasing sense of its global power as it defines its stance toward the United States, said the question they face is: “How can our two nations join together to promote peace and development in the world? These are things that not just the people in our two countries are watching closely, but the whole world is also watching very closely.” | |
| “We need to think creatively and act energetically so that working together we can build a new model of major-country relationship,” he added. | |
| On Saturday, officials said, the leaders plan to delve into economic issues, including the United States’ accusation that Beijing has encouraged or at least tolerated cyberattacks on American systems in which business and military secrets were stolen. | On Saturday, officials said, the leaders plan to delve into economic issues, including the United States’ accusation that Beijing has encouraged or at least tolerated cyberattacks on American systems in which business and military secrets were stolen. |
| On a day when the temperature here reached 115 degrees, Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi, along with their interpreters and closest aides, retreated to the comfort of the sprawling Sunnylands estate in nearby Rancho Mirage, built by the publishing magnate Walter H. Annenberg. But Mr. Obama could not completely escape the domestic controversy over the federal government’s surveillance of domestic phone records and foreign Internet traffic, despite his attempt early on Friday to dampen the furor with an emphatic public defense of the antiterrorism tactics. | |
| White House officials said they did not know why someone had leaked details about the surveillance programs, though they said they did not think they were timed to sabotage the Obama-Xi talks here. A spokesman for Mr. Obama, Josh Earnest, dismissed suggestions from reporters flying with the president to Palm Springs that the surveillance flap would undercut Mr. Obama’s efforts to pressure his counterpart on human rights and civil liberties within China. | |
| Mr. Earnest even suggested that the intensity of the current debate in the United States could serve as a good example to the Chinese. “This is a pretty good illustration of type of conversation we want to have about respecting civil liberties and protecting the constitutional rights of the people that you govern,” he said. | Mr. Earnest even suggested that the intensity of the current debate in the United States could serve as a good example to the Chinese. “This is a pretty good illustration of type of conversation we want to have about respecting civil liberties and protecting the constitutional rights of the people that you govern,” he said. |
| The surveillance limits and privacy protections that Mr. Obama instituted when he took office, Mr. Earnest added, “constrained his own ability, constrained his own authority.” | The surveillance limits and privacy protections that Mr. Obama instituted when he took office, Mr. Earnest added, “constrained his own ability, constrained his own authority.” |
| “I think that is a testament to the strength of our system of government,” he said. | “I think that is a testament to the strength of our system of government,” he said. |
| The reaction from China, where Internet surveillance is a basic fact of life, seemed muted. Some Chinese dissidents who view the United States as a symbol of political tolerance were initially surprised but also said they understood the reasons cited for the American surveillance. | The reaction from China, where Internet surveillance is a basic fact of life, seemed muted. Some Chinese dissidents who view the United States as a symbol of political tolerance were initially surprised but also said they understood the reasons cited for the American surveillance. |
| “I think the main difference is that in China surveillance is done for the interests of the Communist Party, with no legal basis or limits at all, to monitor dissidents,” said Hu Jia, a prominent dissident in Beijing who often uses Skype, Twitter and other Internet tools. “In the U.S. case, I think this was used to fight terror.” | “I think the main difference is that in China surveillance is done for the interests of the Communist Party, with no legal basis or limits at all, to monitor dissidents,” said Hu Jia, a prominent dissident in Beijing who often uses Skype, Twitter and other Internet tools. “In the U.S. case, I think this was used to fight terror.” |
| Chen Yongmiao, a rights advocate and former lawyer in Beijing, said he would not be any more worried about using the Internet now. “I think these days all governments do this kind of thing, and it’s a matter of whether there are any limits or legal restraints,” he said. “Of course, the use of government powers should be transparent and accountable, and when the U.S. government isn’t and it’s exposed, then the government will pay a price. On the other hand, China does not have any mechanisms like that.” | Chen Yongmiao, a rights advocate and former lawyer in Beijing, said he would not be any more worried about using the Internet now. “I think these days all governments do this kind of thing, and it’s a matter of whether there are any limits or legal restraints,” he said. “Of course, the use of government powers should be transparent and accountable, and when the U.S. government isn’t and it’s exposed, then the government will pay a price. On the other hand, China does not have any mechanisms like that.” |
| Another issue expected to figure prominently in the talks between Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi is the tension with North Korea that has been inflamed this year by a series of belligerent statements and actions from the North’s young leader, Kim Jong-un. The Obama administration has welcomed what officials have described as a growing impatience in China — on the part of Mr. Xi in particular — with its longstanding ally in Pyongyang. That has raised administration hopes of new cooperation. | |
| China voted with the rest of the United Nations Security Council to impose new sanctions on North Korea after it tested a nuclear device in February. And when a close adviser to Mr. Kim visited China last month, Mr. Xi bluntly told him that North Korea should resume international negotiations intended to force it to abandon its nuclear arsenal. | China voted with the rest of the United Nations Security Council to impose new sanctions on North Korea after it tested a nuclear device in February. And when a close adviser to Mr. Kim visited China last month, Mr. Xi bluntly told him that North Korea should resume international negotiations intended to force it to abandon its nuclear arsenal. |
| Mr. Xi also appears to have invested heavily in the meetings here with Mr. Obama. Mr. Xi, who took office in March, told Mr. Obama’s departing national security adviser, Tom Donilon, who arranged the meetings, that the relationship between the United States and China had reached a critical juncture and that he wanted to develop “a new type of great power relationship.” | Mr. Xi also appears to have invested heavily in the meetings here with Mr. Obama. Mr. Xi, who took office in March, told Mr. Obama’s departing national security adviser, Tom Donilon, who arranged the meetings, that the relationship between the United States and China had reached a critical juncture and that he wanted to develop “a new type of great power relationship.” |
| Some Chinese diplomats had grumbled that Mr. Xi should not have agreed to meet in California since it was Mr. Obama’s turn to visit China, according to a person who attended a briefing at China’s Foreign Ministry ahead of the meeting. But Mr. Xi himself dispensed with the strict protocol of alternating leaders’ visits. | Some Chinese diplomats had grumbled that Mr. Xi should not have agreed to meet in California since it was Mr. Obama’s turn to visit China, according to a person who attended a briefing at China’s Foreign Ministry ahead of the meeting. But Mr. Xi himself dispensed with the strict protocol of alternating leaders’ visits. |
| China also offered its own gestures in advance of the Sunnylands summit meeting on one of the prickliest issues with the United States: its treatment of human rights. On Friday, only hours before the two leaders met, China granted passports to the mother and brother of Chen Guangcheng, the blind lawyer and activist whose flight from China last year turned into a diplomatic drama between the two countries. | China also offered its own gestures in advance of the Sunnylands summit meeting on one of the prickliest issues with the United States: its treatment of human rights. On Friday, only hours before the two leaders met, China granted passports to the mother and brother of Chen Guangcheng, the blind lawyer and activist whose flight from China last year turned into a diplomatic drama between the two countries. |
| The day before, Mr. Chen had joined the relatives of prominent imprisoned dissidents and 30 American and international rights organizations in Washington in calling on Mr. Obama to appeal vigorously for their release and to press Mr. Xi more broadly to respect democratic freedoms. | The day before, Mr. Chen had joined the relatives of prominent imprisoned dissidents and 30 American and international rights organizations in Washington in calling on Mr. Obama to appeal vigorously for their release and to press Mr. Xi more broadly to respect democratic freedoms. |
Jane Perlez contributed reporting from Beijing, and Chris Buckley from Hong Kong. | Jane Perlez contributed reporting from Beijing, and Chris Buckley from Hong Kong. |