China's vice president, future leader visits U.S.

WASHINGTON -- During a tightly scripted visit with the man in line to be the next president of China, President Obama said on Tuesday that the United States welcomed Beijing's rise as a superpower, while maintaining that human rights remains a critical issue to his administration.

In brief comments with Vice President Xi Jinping (SHEE jeen-ping) before their Oval Office meeting, Obama noted that with power and prosperity also comes increased responsibilities.

"It also means that on critical issues like human rights, we will continue to emphasize what we believe is the importance of recognizing the aspirations and rights of all people," Obama said. "And we expect that China will continue to take a growing role in world affairs."

Later at a luncheon at the State Department in Xi's honor, Vice President Biden reiterated that the Obama administration sees "our advocacy for human rights as a fundamental aspect of our foreign policy."

Xi defended China's rights record over the past 30 years, while acknowledging "there's always room for improvement on human rights."

The visit by Xi — who will become the Communist Party leader this fall and is expected to succeed President Hu Jintao next March — has been billed as a getting-to-know-you moment with the man who will likely lead the emerging power for the next decade. He'll also visit Iowa and California in the coming days.

The visit comes at a time when the U.S.-China relationship is strained on several fronts.

There are important differences between the U.S. and China on how to go about preventing Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons. The U.S. business community is pushing Obama to confront China on its currency policy as well as its policing of intellectual property.

And Obama has laid out a plan to reorient U.S. defense strategy toward the Pacific — a pivot that has made China uneasy.

More recently, the White House has been frustrated by China's and Russia's decision to block stronger sanctions by the United Nations Security Council against Bashar Assad's regime in Syria.

Republicans in Congress and GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney have accused the Obama administration of not pushing China hard enough on human rights and on trade practices. In a speech last week, Romney called China's one-child policy "barbaric."

In the lead-up to Xi's visit, administration officials defended their record on promoting human rights and vowed that Xi would be pressed publicly and privately on the issue. The White House noted that Biden met with human rights advocates days before the visit to discuss prospects for reform in China.

Biden also grumbled during a joint appearance with Xi at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday that China needs to do more to provide a level playing field for U.S. companies doing business in China and that the Chinese currency, renminbi— while it has appreciated considerably in recent months — remains undervalued.

At the same time, White House officials emphasized that Xi is not yet the decision-maker in China and that his visit was more about relationship building than about negotiating policy.

"He's not the head of state at this point," Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said in advance of Xi's visit. "He's the future leader."