Obama, Hu to meet in Beijing this year

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WASHINGTON, April 2 (AP): President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, who agreed to meet in Beijing this year, are looking to improve the often-tense relations between two nations seen as pivotal to hopes of ending the global economic crisis.
Top US and Chinese ministers also plan to gather this summer in Washington in a closely watched conference, the countries said Wednesday at the start of the Group of Twenty (G20) leading economies summit in London. The high-profile meetings signal the United States and China, despite often sharp differences on human rights, military and trade matters, believe that stronger cooperation is key to their own and the world's economic recovery.
Obama, speaking before his meeting with Hu in London, said the US-China relationship "will help to set the stage for how the world deals with a whole host of challenges in the years to come."
Hu echoed Obama, saying a sound US-China relationship "contributes to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asian Pacific region and in the world at large."
The Obama administration believes China, which like the United States is a veto-holding permanent member of the UN Security Council, is critical to resolving the international economic and financial crisis, nuclear standoffs with North Korea and Iran, turmoil in Pakistan and Afghanistan and climate change.