Wen and Obama met at the East
Asia Summit in Cambodia, as tensions rise over maritime territorial disputes in
the region which are nagging the always friction-prone relations between
Washington and Beijing.
Both men stuck to familiar
talking points in a short photo-op, and ignored questions shouted by reporters
about South China Sea showdowns which have centre stage at the summit.
Obama said that, as the world's
two largest economies, China and the United States had a "special
responsibility" to work together to ensure sustained and balanced growth
and to establish "clear rules of the road" on trade.
His comments were a veiled
reference to the trade and currency disputes, and issues such as intellectual
property piracy and commercial duties over which his, and previous, US
administrations have haggled with the Chinese.
Wen congratulated Obama on his
re-election this month and sent the regards of the man he referred to as
China's "newly-elected" leader, Xi Jinping.
Xi was installed as the head of
the ruling Communist Party after a tightly scripted party congress which
culminated this month in Beijing, and he is expected to succeed Hu Jintao as
national president next March.
Wen told Obama the two sides
could work together on business, economic and finance issues -- where they are
intertwined -- to tackle "the difficulties we have and resolve the
differences and disagreements between us".
Washington has become
increasingly frustrated with Beijing over its refusal to back stronger measures
against the Syrian regime, while trade disputes fester between the two nations.
Obama took a tough line on some
aspects of Chinese trade and economic policy during his re-election campaign,
covering his political flank as Republican candidate Mitt Romney flailed away
at Beijing.
The United States has called on
China to manage territorial disputes in the South China Sea with a regional
code of conduct that would ease tensions, but Beijing wants to discuss disputes
only with individual claimant nations.
- AFP/jc
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