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Updated Tuesday, February 21, 2012 0:06 am TWN, The China Post news staff

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China's 'peaceful rise' should not be taken for granted

Chinese soon-to-be President Xi Jinping's visit to the U.S. gives the world the chance to reflect on the role that China is going to assume in international politics and economics. With more than US$3 trillion in reserves, China has been looked to as the savior of Europe. For its part, the U.S. is eager to address its US$300 billion a year trade deficit with China, and under pressure from domestic constituencies, Obama has surely raised the question of intellectual property rights and industrial subsidies with Xi.

Another long-standing complaint by the U.S. regarding China's trade policies is its artificially depressed currency, the RMB, which the U.S. claims contributes to the huge trade deficits between the two sides.

“We've tried to emphasize that because of China's extraordinary development over the last two decades, that with expanding power and prosperity also comes increased responsibilities ... We want to work with China to make sure everyone is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system,” Obama said, next to Xi, according to CNN.

From the standpoint of national interest, the U.S. should not ignore several other crucial issues that are beneath the surface of pure economics. Obama raised the issue of human rights with Xi, although no further information was given regarding how he approached the issue or whether any concrete promises were obtained during the closed-door meeting. On the same day, the Washington Post announced that China denied a visa for the U.S. Ambassador on Religion, Suzan Cook, probably due to fears that she was going to embarrass China at the sensitive time of Xi's visit. Also, prominent democracy activist Zhu Yufu was sentenced to seven years in prison for writing a poem that was deemed anti-government.

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