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Updated Friday, February 17, 2012 0:01 am TWN, Reuters and AFP



	Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, left, and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad raise their glasses at the beginning of a formal dinner in the rotunda at the Iowa Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday. (AFP/AP) More Photos (3)

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China's leader-in-waiting Xi woos and warns US

DES MOINES/MUSCATINE, Iowa -- China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping received a warm welcome in the U.S. heartland on Wednesday, moving from Washington and talks on contentious international issues to Iowa, where the Chinese vice president was hailed as an old friend and a boost of billions of dollars in agricultural trade.

Before leaving Washington, Xi offered deeper cooperation with the United States on trade and security, citing Iran and North Korea, but called on Washington to heed Beijing's demands on contentious “core interests” such as Tibet. Xi is almost sure to become China's next president in just over a year.

Xi joined Iowa Governor Terry Branstad for a state dinner attended by several hundred business and government leaders, and was feted with a meal including Iowa-raised pork tenderloin, Angus beef and a soybean and corn salad.

Iowa is America's largest producer of corn, soybeans and pork, and China's appetite for all three is growing rapidly. Branstad invited Xi to Iowa to tout the state's agricultural riches and reconnect Xi with Iowans he had met during an agricultural trade trip in the 1980s.

Xi laid out his views on ties with the United States in the keynote speech of his visit to Washington before heading to Iowa. His message was dominated by reassuring vows of more balanced economic ties and more international cooperation. But he also stressed Beijing's impatience with U.S. policies on Taiwan and Tibet.

“We should further use bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to enhance coordination between China and the United States on hotspots, including developments on the Korean peninsula and the Iran nuclear issue,” said Xi in a meeting in Washington with U.S. business executives, academics and policy-makers involved with China.

Xi will finish his U.S. trip with a visit Thursday to Los Angeles after finishing his stop to Iowa.

Friction

Xi this week stressed Beijing's impatience with U.S. policies on Taiwan and Tibet — where Beijing fears its claims could be undermined by Western pressure.

Washington should “abide by the one-China policy and take concrete actions to oppose Taiwanese independence,” he said.

“We also hope that the United States will truly implement its recognition that Tibet is part of China and its vow to oppose Tibetan independence, acting prudently in issues concerning Tibet,” he added.

Xi acknowledged the Obama administration's recent strategic “pivot” toward Asia, which will see a more mobile U.S. military presence, but warned Washington not to push too far.

“China welcomes the United States playing a constructive role in promoting the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region, and at the same time we hope the U.S. side will truly respect the interests and concerns of countries in the region, including China,” said Xi.

Members of Congress pressed Xi on China's detentions of human rights activists as well. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's office said his staff delivered a letter on the case of Gao Zhisheng, a dissident and human rights lawyer imprisoned in China. The House speaker also expressed disappointment at China' veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria.

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