Obama: $45B deals show China's rise can help U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is looking to assure Americans that they should not fear China's economic rise, using Chinese President Hu Jintao's high-profile state visit to announce job-creating business deals worth billions of dollars to U.S. companies.

On another big American concern, human rights, Hu conceded that "a lot still needs to be done" to improve China's record.

The business deals and Hu's human rights comments were among the highlights of a ceremony-packed day seen as key to building trust between the world's top two powers.

Five years after his last visit to the White House, one that was marred by protocol blunders, Hu was feted Wednesday with the full pomp of a state visit, including a lavish dinner with some of Washington's most powerful figures and other luminaries.

The two sides played down differences and stressed areas of cooperation, ranging from a plan to cooperate on nuclear security to an extension of the loan of two Chinese pandas to Washington's zoo.