胡锦涛主席访美专题报道

Giants Meet Under the Shadow of Iran
By Cihan News Agency, Beijing
Published: Wednesday, April 19, 2006
zaman.com


As the Iranian crisis continues, Chinese President Hu Jintao pays a critical visit to the United States to handle dual commercial relationships as well as the issue of Taiwan.

The US capital Washington plays host to another vital American-Chinese summit. Chinese leader Hu Jintao, the country considered the prospective rival of the US, went to the US yesterday to begin his official contacts.

Hu realizing his first visit to the US will meet President George W. Bush at White House and handle economic relationships as well as Taiwan and North Korea. The visit is important for it takes place at a time when scenarios of military intervention in Iran are in the air due to its nuclear program.

President Bush, speaking at White House yesterday, said he will handle Iran's nuclear program in his talk with Hu, and said "All options are on the table," referring to Tehran. Giant US companies such as Microsoft and Boeing with important investments in China warmly welcomed Hu in Seattle, the first stop of his visit. China agreed to buy 80 Boeing airplanes for $4.6 billion this month.

China's state run newspaper "China Daily" emphasized the main goal of Hu's visit is to eliminate Americans' suspicions about China. Authorities expect no progress on important issues such as trade and Iran's nuclear crisis from the Bush-Hu summit. However, Chinese Ambassador to Washington Zhou Wenzhong believes the visit will have a deep effect in terms of constructive cooperation and development between the two countries in the 21st century.

David M. Lampton, Director of Chinese Studies at Johns Hopkins Universities, said he believes the two leaders will realize a successful meeting, and says "The summit would not take place otherwise." One of the basic issues to be discussed at the Bush-Hu summit is Iran, whose nuclear dossier is at the UN and removing nuclear weapons from North Korea, China's neighbor.

The UN, which gave Iran until the end of the month to stop its nuclear activities, is otherwise expected to enforce sanctions on the country. China and Russia, UN Security Council members with the right to veto, do not approve imposing sanctions on Iran with which they have strong commercial ties. It is implied that China may remain noncommittal, not opposing the US, even though it gives no green light to the military intervention.

The US side is expected handle the violation of human rights in China. The US continuously criticizes Beijing' restricting religious freedoms, and regards China as one of the countries with the highest human rights violation. Chinese President Hu is accompanied by his wife Liu Yongqing, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai on his trip to the US.

Dinner at Gates' mansion

Chinese leader Hu responding to US President Bush's visit to Beijing last year will arrive in Washington today. Dinner at the $100 million mansion of Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and the richest businessman in the world, is also included in the program of Hu, later scheduled to make a speech at Yale University. Boeing signing a $4.6 billion agreement with Beijing this month is among those companies showing a close interest in Hu.

Protests by Tibetan and Taiwanese groups, as well as of the members of the Falungong sect, await the Chinese President on his first visit to the US.

Chairman Gates woos President Hu

Hu knows who's who


By Paul Hales: 星期三 19 四月 2006, 12:19

THE LEADER of Red China sat and broke bread with the world’s most successful decadent capitalist last night, as Chairman Gates entertained President Hu Jintao.
Hu enjoyed at slap-up banquet at Gates Towers in Redmond after a wander around the Microsoft campus, where Hu expressed admiration for the billionaire nerd. "Because you, Mr. Bill Gates, are a friend of China, I'm a friend of Microsoft," said Hu through a translator.


President Hu took time out to "assure you, Bill Gates, that we will certainly honour our words in protecting intellectual property rights."

The Chinese regime had hurriedly issued a decree last week to ensure all its PCs had a 'legal' operating system.

Hu felt he already knew Gates personally, having had the task of "dealing with the operating system produced by Microsoft on a daily basis."

Gates clearly sympathised, thanking the general secretary of the Communist Party of China for a "fantastic" relationship. "If you ever need advice on how to use Windows, I'll be glad to help," chimed back the chairman and chief software architect of the Microsoft Corporation.

Protesters had earlier upset the tone of proceedings by waving signs reading "Stop web censorship" and "Release all political prisoners."

The man holding a placard that read "Free Linux" must have been turned back at a roadblock. µ

Chinese President Dines At Bill Gates' Place
Parmy Olson, 04.19.06, 6:51 AM ET

William H. Gates, III


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London - Call it the aperitif to a somewhat heavier political meeting. As the Chinese President Hu Jintao and Bill Gates tucked into their first plates of smoked guinea fowl salad at the Microsoft chairman's lakeside mansion last night, piracy and intellectual property rights are likely to have been topics of the dinner conversation. It's easier dialogue than the U.S.-China trade gap expected to come up when Hu meets President George W. Bush tomorrow, but the issue of bootlegging Microsoft's software in China is still one that Gates may well have been stewing over while quietly poking at his beef filet and Walla Walla onions.

He has reason to be assured nonetheless. Chinese government officials have insisted that they are serious about cracking down on the rampant peddling of bootlegged Windows software, and reports say that Chinese PC makers plan to buy over $400 million worth of the company's programs over the next three years. This past Monday, the Redmond, Wash.-based firm inked a pact with China's largest PC maker, Lenovo Group, who pledged to promote the use of licensed Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) software in China and elsewhere.

Of course analysts say it could be some time before the promised changes have a significant effect on Microsoft's sales, though it helps for now that Microsoft and Chinese authorities seem to be on good terms. "Because you, Mr. Bill Gates, are a friend of China, I'm a friend of Microsoft," Hu said through a translator when touring the company's vast Redmond campus earlier in the day. Pursued by an entourage of Chinese officials as well as Gates and Microsoft Chieve Executive Steve Ballmer, the president had said he admired what Gates had achieved, before quipping that he was also "dealing with the operating system produced by Microsoft every day." Gates replied that if Hu ever needed advice on how to use Windows, he would be glad to help.

As the entourage chuckled at the exchange, China's piracy pledges seemed had turned into something of a feel-good backdrop for Hu's meeting with the Microsoft chairman. Might it carry on to tomorrow? More…

Chinese leader dines with Bill Gates
By Associated Press
Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - Updated: 06:35 AM EST

E-mail article   View text version   View most popular
SEATTLE -- After a swanky dinner with the world’s richest man, Chinese President Hu Jintao turns his attention to America’s largest exporter, whose sales to China could help ease tensions over a growing trade gap.

  Hu, who dined Tuesday night at the home of Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, was invited to tour Boeing Co.’s Everett plant on Wednesday, just days after Chinese officials confirmed a commitment to order 80 Boeing 737 jets, in a deal valued at $5.2 billion at list prices. The order has yet to be finalized, and airlines typically negotiate discounts.



  Boeing sees China as one of its most important future markets, estimating that the country will require 2,600 new airplanes over the next 20 years.

  The big Boeing deal is one of several purchases the Chinese made recently as officials try to ease tensions over the massive trade gap between the two nations. It’s one of several issues President Bush is expected to raise when Hu heads to Washington, D.C., later in his four-day U.S. tour.

  Hu’s Thursday summit with Bush will cover a broad agenda, from China’s much-criticized currency and other trade policies, to its aggressive search for oil and its positions on the developing nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea.

  Touring Microsoft’s suburban Redmond campus earlier Tuesday, Hu said he admired what Gates had achieved. He also sought to reassure Gates that China is serious about protecting intellectual property rights, a key concern for the company as it battles widespread piracy of its Windows operating system there.

  "Because you, Mr. Bill Gates, are a friend of China, I’m a friend of Microsoft," Hu said through a translator. "Also, I am dealing with the operating system produced by Microsoft every day," he added, to laughter.

  Gates responded: "Thank you, it’s a fantastic relationship," and then quipped: "And if you ever need advice on how to use Windows, I’ll be glad to help."

  In a whirlwind visit, Hu - accompanied by Gates, company CEO Steve Ballmer and an entourage of Chinese dignitaries - saw some business technology demonstrations and toured Microsoft’s Home of the Future, which features experimental technology.

Hu began his American visit Tuesday in Everett, about 30 miles north of Seattle, where he was greeted by a local kung fu club and a handful of ribbon dancers from a Seattle elementary school.

  Hu also was greeted by government and business leaders, including Gov. Chris Gregoire and Starbucks Corp. Chairman Howard Schultz.

  Hu told Gregoire he didn’t choose Seattle simply because it’s the closest major U.S. city to China.

  "It is also because your state enjoys very good cooperative relations with my country," Hu said through a translator.



  China is Washington state’s third-largest export market, while Washington imported more than $16 billion worth of products from China in 2005.

  Demonstrators both in support and opposition to Hu lined the streets near his downtown Seattle hotel. Supporters waved Chinese and American flags.

  Members of the spiritual movement Falun Gong, condemned by the Chinese government as an evil cult, staked out all four corners around the hotel Tuesday to protest treatment of the movement’s followers in China.

  At the entrance to Microsoft’s campus, protesters waved signs in Chinese and English that read "Stop web censorship" and "Release all political prisoners."

  Following the meeting at Microsoft, about 100 guests were invited to Gates’ home for a dinner Gregoire hosted there. The guest list included executives from Costco Wholesale Corp., Weyerhaeuser Co., Boeing and Amazon.com Inc.

  The visit came as Microsoft, after years of battling widespread software piracy in the potentially lucrative China market, is hopeful that things are changing. Chinese government officials say they are serious about cracking down on sales of illegal copies of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, and some computer makers are pledging to ship more computers with legitimate Windows software installed

Although analysts say it could be some time before the promised changes have a significant effect on Microsoft’s sales, the pledges are a feel-good backdrop for Hu’s visit with Gates and other business and government executives.

  ---

  Associated Press Writers Elizabeth M. Gillespie and Peggy Andersen contributed to this report.

Chinese president opens visit to U.S.

Items compiled from Tribune news services
Published April 19, 2006


SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in the Seattle area Tuesday to meet with business leaders eager for a bigger share of China's markets before he heads to Washington, D.C., for talks with politicians wary of his nation's muscular stance in trade, energy and currency policy.

Hu planned to meet with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and other business leaders and tour a Boeing Co. commercial jet plant Wednesday.

His summit Thursday with President Bush will cover a broad agenda, from China's much criticized currency and other trade policies, to its aggressive search for oil and its stance toward nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea.

Demonstrators in support of and opposition to Hu lined the streets near his hotel.

Gates-Hu meeting is short but noteworthy
'I'm a friend of Microsoft,' president says

By TODD BISHOP
P-I REPORTER

As first meetings go, it wasn't exactly private -- or long. But by all accounts, the world's richest man and the leader of the world's most populous nation got along just fine.

With more than 100 people looking on, including a phalanx of media from around the world, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates ushered Chinese President Hu Jintao into the Redmond company's main conference center Tuesday afternoon to begin what the company hopes will be a positive relationship between the men.

 
  AP
Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives at Microsoft headquarters with Chairman Bill Gates as Microsoft employees applaud in Redmond on Tuesday.
"Because you, Mr. Bill Gates, are a friend of China, I'm a friend of Microsoft," Hu said, according to an Associated Press pool report from their meeting. "Also, I am dealing with the operating system produced by Microsoft every day," he added, to laughter from those around him.

Hu told Gates that he would welcome further investment and cooperation from Microsoft in China. He also gave assurances that the country would fulfill its promises to protect intellectual property rights -- a key issue for the company in China, where its Windows operating system is widely pirated.

Gates responded: "Thank you, it's a fantastic relationship. And if you ever need advice on how to use Windows, I'll be glad to help."

Pool reporters were only allowed to listen to part of their discussion, so it wasn't clear if the Microsoft chairman raised any sensitive issues such as China's record of online censorship. Along with other Internet services, Microsoft's MSN has been criticized for complying with such practices by the Chinese government.


See other articles about President Hu's visit to Seattle
Hu toured a demonstration of Microsoft's Home of the Future, a display of experimental technologies, and heard from executives including Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive.

In addition, Hu met children from Seattle's John Stanford International School. At a demonstration of a Tablet PC, Hu wrote for the children, in Chinese, "Long live the China-American friendship."

Questioned by Chinese reporters as he left the conference center, Hu reiterated the importance of technological innovation and intellectual property protection.

After leaving Microsoft, Hu went to Gates' Medina mansion for a dinner with business, legislative and community leaders, hosted by Gov. Christine Gregoire.

Prior to Hu's visit, Chinese PC makers announced a series of large Windows purchases, and the country also committed to buying billions of dollars worth of Boeing planes. Hu is slated to visit Boeing today."He's making personal visits to two very happy recipients of Chinese largesse," said Mark Anderson, publisher of the Strategic News Service technology newsletter. "He does that as a red-carpet entr

Beijing Begins with a Warning over Taiwan
By Foreign News Desk, Istanbul
Published: Wednesday, April 19, 2006
zaman.com


Chinese-American relations are the most vulnerable to discussions over the break away province of Taiwan.

Beijing condemns Washington for its discreet support of weaponry, as well as the permission it gives to leaders to visit Taiwan as signs of encouragement for their independence.

A spokesman for the Chinese foreign minister spoke in the wake of President Hu Jintao’s trip to the United States and described Taiwan as the focus of talks between China and the US.

“Taiwan is the most substantial, as well as most fragile aspect of ties between China and the United States.”

With a population of 23-million, Taiwan’s departure from China in 1949 during the civil war has not been enough to deter China from viewing this island country as part of its lands, and to top it off, the Chinese translation of Taiwan’s official independence decree is a cause for war.

Beijing is pressing Washington to show firm loyalty to its “single China” commitment.

America, displays an unofficial set of relations with Taiwan as a pretext for its containment policy on China, while at the same time recognizing China.

Anxious over the recent Chinese military configuration, the US seems to be resolute in its opposition to a Chinese incursion into Taiwan.

In his interview with Le Figaro, a French newspaper, President Chen Shui-Bian of Taiwan defied claims that Hu’s trip to the US is likely to change American policies on his country.

There has not been any high-level official contact between the governments of China and Taiwan since the ate 1990s. Authorities from both countries have so far refused to meet.

Bush to Seek China's Help, Urge Change
By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, April 19, 2006


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(04-19) 16:26 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --


President Bush faces a delicate political balancing act Thursday when he welcomes Chinese President Hu Jintao to the White House: seeking China's help to end nuclear standoffs in Iran and North Korea, while urging changes to economic, military and political policies that critics say hurt U.S. interests.


For Bush, the success of Hu's visit will be judged largely by whatever concessions Washington wins on a long list of complaints. Those include allegations that China mistreats its citizens, that an undervalued currency hampers U.S. competition, that China's growing military strength could lead to conflict in the Taiwan Strait, and that Beijing has pursued energy deals with countries the United States considers tyrannical.


For Hu, the visit provides a chance to burnish China's image at a time when Americans are wrestling with what China's new economic and political clout means here.


"Part of President Hu's challenge is also to speak to the U.S. public," Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, a leading administration voice on China, said in a speech this week. "China does not want to be seen as a threat; it's seeking respect."


The strain in relations between the countries is perhaps most evident in the furor in Congress over China's economic policies, which, critics say, contributed to the United States' record $202 billion trade deficit with China last year.


On Wednesday, Hu planned to tour a Boeing jet plant in Washington state. Meanwhile, a congressional hearing here raised misgivings on China's human rights abuse, which some observers feel could be overshadowed by economic and political issues during the summit.


Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who chairs the House global human rights subcommittee, said in an interview that if China is not pressed hard enough this week on what he sees as Beijing's systematic mistreatment of its citizens, Hu "could walk away from here without any sense of our serious human rights concerns, which only gives a greener light to further abuse."


"You don't coddle a dictator," Smith said. "We have to speak truth to power."


Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reflected a growing sentiment among lawmakers last month when he blasted Beijing as a "government without a conscience," intent on manipulating its currency to the detriment of American producers and allowing widespread piracy of copyrighted U.S. goods.


Zoellick said both U.S. and Chinese officials must "demonstrate to the United States public that the economic relationship with China offers a fair, two-way street ― that there are mutual opportunities and benefits."


The meeting will be the two leaders' fifth encounter in nearly a year and Hu's first trip to the White House since he became China's leader in 2003.


Hu began his four-day U.S. tour Tuesday in Washington state. He had dinner with Bill Gates, head of software giant Microsoft, Tuesday evening. After meeting with Bush, Hu will visit Yale University.


During the summit between Bush and Hu, many here will expect answers to hard questions.


Michael Green, Bush's senior adviser on Asia until December and now an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Bush will want "to show the American public that there's some result, that there's some productive output from this increasingly candid and strategic discussion."


Chinese officials will be watching how Hu's diplomatic performance plays on TV sets in Beijing. But if China should appear to be focusing solely on style over substance this week, mounting anger in Washington could get worse.


"There's a lot of frustration at all levels," said CSIS analyst Derek Mitchell, a former Asia adviser at the Pentagon. "There's a sense that the Chinese are not giving on anything."


___

Joke Exchange Between Hu and Bill Gates
By Anadolu News Agency (aa), Seattle
Published: Wednesday, April 19, 2006
zaman.com


During his four-day US visit, Chinese President Hu Jintao exchanged jokes with the boss of Microsoft Bill Gates.

"You’re the friend of China," Hu told Gates, "and I’m the friend of Microsoft."

The President jokingly said he uses the Microsoft operating system daily, and Gates offered his personal assistance in return, if Hu should need it.

The Chinese President visited Microsoft’s headquarters in Seattle and witnessed a technology show. He also stopped by the "Hose of the Future" created by Microsoft.

Hu will visit Boeing’s facilities as well and then meet with President George W. Bush at the White House tomorrow.


[09:28:00]

In Seattle, Hu Focuses on Trade and Cooperation

(Newsbytes Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)SEATTLE, April 18 -- Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived Tuesday in the Pacific Northwest where trade issues have been carefully massaged in recent days to put a cheery face on China's chronic problems with software piracy, an undervalued currency and a soaring trade surplus with the United States.



By kicking off his visit here, the Chinese president is focusing on a region where big-ticket trade -- for Boeing aircraft and Microsoft software -- is important to both the national and local economy. The Port of Seattle has been packed for nearly a decade with ships carrying goods to and from China.

Sweetening the terms of its trade with Washington state, China pledged last week to buy 80 Boeing airplanes for $5.2 billion and moved forward this week on a promise to crack down on the use of illegal software.

At Microsoft headquarters Monday, Lenovo Group Ltd., which last year bought IBM's personal computer assets, signed an agreement valued at $1.2 billion to pre-install Windows on its computers made in China. It was the third of three recent deals by large Chinese computer makers to put licensed Windows software on PCs before they hit the streets.

Hu's two-day visit here is centered almost entirely on meetings at sites owned by Microsoft and Boeing. The airplane maker is now based in Chicago but still builds most of its aircraft in the Seattle area.

Local corporations paid $20,000 each for seats at a Tuesday night dinner for Hu at the lakeside mansion of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and for seats at a luncheon Wednesday in Everett. About 100 guests were expected for dinner at the well-guarded Gates compound.

Trade with China was worth more than $20 billion last year to Washington state. On a per capita basis, Washington does more business with China than any other state -- and its total trade is exceeded only by California and Texas, said Joe Borich, executive director of the Washington State China Relations Council.

In a meeting with Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D), Hu said he did not choose to visit Seattle simply because it is the closest major U.S. city to China. "It is also because your state enjoys very good cooperative relations with my country," he said.

Hu's plane landed Tuesday morning north of Seattle at Paine Field in Everett, next to a Boeing assembly plant that turns out wide-body jets. Trade officials say that in a typical year it is not unusual for Chinese purchases of Boeing planes to account for 80 percent of Washington state exports to China.

After being greeted by dignitaries including Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz (whose company is expanding rapidly in China), the Chinese leader traveled across Lake Washington in the afternoon to meet with Gates at the company's sprawling campus in Redmond. Hu toured an exhibit showing high-tech homes of the future.

In downtown Seattle, Taiwanese protesters gathered near Hu's hotel, demanding that China allow the island nation to decide for itself about rejoining the mainland. Tibetans seeking independence also protested. Chinese supporters of Hu also gathered near the hotel and waved red Chinese flags.

On Monday, about 200 followers of the Falun Gong, a religion banned in China, marched in downtown Seattle. They accused the Chinese government of committing Nazi-style atrocities against their fellow believers and carried large banners, one of which said, "Stop harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners."

On Wednesday morning, Hu is scheduled to discuss U.S.-Chinese relations in a private meeting with former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger, former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and others from the board of the D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

One of the most publicized aspects of Hu's visit to Seattle was the list of what he is going to have for supper Tuesday at Gates's mansion.

The secret was unveiled by Microsoft on Monday, and the menu is dominated by food from the Northwest, including Walla Walla onions, local asparagus, Granny Smith apples, Alaskan halibut and wines from eastern Washington.