Jan. 19: The US President, Mr Barack Obama, on Wednesday urged the Chinese President, Mr Hu Jintao, to uphold human rights in his country, saying it could prove key to China’s future success.
“The United States welcomes China’s rise as a strong, prosperous and successful member of the community of nations,” Mr Obama said as he welcomed Mr Hu to the White House.
But straying into the contentious issue of human rights, Mr Obama added: “History shows that societies are more harmonious, nations are more successful and the world is more just when the rights and responsibilities of all nations and all people are upheld... including the universal rights of every human being.” At a later joint press conference, Mr Obama acknowledged Beijing and Washington had different opinions on human rights. “China has a different political system than we do. China is at a different stage of development than we are,” he said.