Barack Obama,Xi Jinping grasp for new momentum in US-China relations

Their laid-back summit,stripped of the normal pageantry of Sino-US meet-ups,was called in a bid to forge a personal bond between Xi,who has just assumed full power as Chinese leader,and Obama,who is beginning his second term.

Obama told reporters,before a bilateral meeting to be followed by an intimate private dinner,that he wanted to achieve 8220;a new model of cooperation8221; with Beijing. He also wasted no time in hitting a key theme of the visit from the US side 8212; complaints of an alleged Chinese Internet spying effort targeting American military and commercial secrets and intellectual property. Obama said both sides should 8220;work together8221; on issues such as cyber security.

Xi,like Obama wearing a dark suit with an open collar and no tie,mirrored his host8217;s theme of a new approach to an increasingly testy relationship,saying he was looking to 8220;shape the future8221; US-China ties.

Allegations that China has waged a cyber-hacking campaign against the United States are likely to dominate the talks,which will also take up the constant trade niggles that have soured ties between the world8217;s two largest economies.

But Obama also has a wider purpose trying to glean the strategic vision of the man set to guide a fast-growing China through the rest of his own presidency,with major effects on Obama8217;s own foreign policy legacy.

The 59-year-old Xi holds credibility as the son of one of China8217;s founding revolutionaries and speaks in a confident,free-flowing style,a shift from the stilted formality of his predecessor Hu Jintao that frustrated the White House. The two leaders had not been expected to meet until the G20 summit in Russia in September. But both sides,sensing uncertainty seeping into a complicated and often difficult relationship,saw value in an earlier encounter.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that Obama wanted 8220;an informal atmosphere8221; and hoped 8220;to see if there are broader opportunities for us to expand those issues on which we cooperate.8221; China has signaled that it believes it too is a victim of cyber espionage. In troublesome optics for Obama,the summit comes as he faces criticism over revelations that the United States has run a massive Internet and telephone surveillance program for security purposes.

The White House rejected charges that the scandal weakened Obama8217;s hand and instead said that the row showed how the United States holds vibrant discussions on individual rights.

8220;This is a pretty good illustration of the type of conversation we want to have about respecting civil liberties and protecting the constitutional rights of the people that you govern,8221; Earnest said.