Obama meets with Chinese president

Associated Press

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.

Opening a two-day summit, President Barack Obama drew attention to contentious economic and cybersecurity issues Friday night as he warmly received Chinese President Xi Jinping to a California desert estate for high-stakes talks.

Under a shaded walkway as temperatures surged above 100 degrees, the two leaders — in white shirts and suit coats but no ties — greeted each other and walked side by side to start their first in-person meetings since Xi took office in March.

“Our decision to meet so early [in Xi’s term] signifies the importance of the U.S.-China relationship,” Obama said. He noted the unusual setting and said he hoped for “more extended” and informal talks that will lead to a “new model of cooperation” between countries.

Previewing their talks, Obama said the United States is seeking an “economic order where nations are playing by the same rules and where the United States and China work together on issues like cybersecurity.” Obama said he also would stress the importance of human rights, another sensitive issue with the Chinese.

For his part, Xi did not mention cybersecurity, human rights or North Korea, another area of potential tensions between the two powers.

Speaking through a translator, Xi said both leaders were “meeting today to chart the future of U.S.-China relations.” He added that the world has “reaped huge benefits” for the relationship between both countries.

Though the summit was billed as an informal meeting, the first round of talks looked and felt like a standard diplomatic encounter.