SEATTLE -
Chinese President Hu Jintao, on the second day of
an official visit to the United States, toured
Boeing's plant in Everett, Washington, where he
endorsed China-US trade ties before an ecstatic
crowd of Boeing employees. While meeting with
business and government dignitaries in Washington
state, Hu stressed the importance of business ties
in stabilizing China-US relations and emphasized
the need for reciprocal and win-win relationship
between the two powers.
Meanwhile, in
Beijing, an official with the State Copyright
Bureau pledged China's intention to give foreign
companies confidence in the country's ability to
protect their intellectual property rights
(IPR). The statements
followed a meeting between Hu and Microsoft
chairman Bill Gates in which Hu noted recent
actions to promote IPR protection including the
installation of legal Windows software on
computers sold in China.
As Hu headed for
the "other Washington" in the District of Columbia
late on Wednesday, some analysts warned that his
welcome there might not be so warm, with a variety
of contentious issues on the table.
For
example, Los Angeles Times writer Sam Howe
Verhovek noted: "Presidents Hu and [George W] Bush
are expected to lock horns over a variety of
nettlesome issues ... including the record
[US]$202 billion US trade deficit with China,
Beijing's currency policies and the growing demand
for petroleum in the world's most populous
nation."
And University of Washington
professor and China expert David Bachman said that
although Hu's focus on the mutual benefits of
trade played well in Washington state, there was
also a "not-too-subtle subtext that you better
work on these crazy people in DC to make sure [the
trade] continues".
Hu's visit to
Boeing: 'China rocks' Hu toured Boeing's
enormous Everett, Washington, final-assembly plant
on Wednesday, riding in a golf cart and visiting a
mock-up of the next-generation Boeing 787
Dreamliner, 60 of which China has already arranged
to purchase. Boeing forecasts that China will buy
up to 2,600 planes in the next 20 years, valued at
$213 billion, and the US firm has historically
commanded a majority share in China's
civilian-airliner market.
At a
presentation before plant employees, Hu said, "I
hope that [China-US] economic trade and relations
will prosper further and fly higher, just like a
Boeing plane ... Boeing is a household name in
China. When Chinese people fly, it is mostly in a
Boeing plane. I'm pleased to say that I came to
the United States on a Boeing plane." The
president had arrived at the firm's private
airfield in Everett on an Air China Boeing 747.
Hu was the third Chinese leader to visit
the plant, following Jiang Zemin and Deng Xiaoping
in previous years. At the end of Hu's
presentation, the president hugged a startled
Boeing employee, 777 program manager Paul Dernier,
who had presented him with a Boeing baseball cap.
"A lot of people I talked to said they've
never seen him hug anyone," Dernier said later,
adding: "I was totally caught off guard. It was an
international embrace ... My first presidential
hug - I feel pretty special."
The incident
typified the warm atmosphere prevailing at the
Boeing visit, summed up by Boeing Commercial
Airplanes chief executive Alan Mulally, who said
the visit exceeded his expectations and noted:
"For the president of China [on his] first visit
to the United States ... to have the first place
he stops be Paine Field, and his thank-you to
Boeing workers - it makes my eyes water." Speaking
at the same event where Hu delivered his speech,
Mulally had commented, "China rocks."
Hu calls trade ties 'pillar' at
luncheon At a luncheon on Wednesday hosted
by the state of Washington, the Seattle business
community and local organizations, Hu said
business cooperation has proved to be a pillar for
the growth of Sino-US relations, vowing to promote
bilateral business ties.
"Strong business
ties meet the fundamental interests of our two
countries and peoples and will continue to play an
important role in boosting and stabilizing our
relations," Hu said.
He also expressed his
hope to work together with the US side to enhance
mutual trust, deepen cooperation and promote the
growth of the constructive and cooperative
China-US relations in all fields.
In 2005,
trade volume between the two countries jumped to
$211.6 billion, an increase of more than 80 times
over that in 1979 when China and the United States
established diplomatic relations. "The
fast-growing bilateral business ties have
delivered great benefits to our peoples," Hu said
in the speech with the theme of "Deepen Mutually
Beneficial Cooperation to Promote Common
Development".
He said that by doing
business with China, US companies have made good
profits, enhanced their global competitiveness and
strengthened their positions in the US market. At
the same time, Hu also pointed out that it is
"hardly avoidable" that some problems have
occurred, given the rapid growth, sheer size and
wide scope of business ties between the two sides.
"We should properly address these problems
through consultation and dialogue on an equal
footing as we work to expand our business ties,"
Hu said. He stressed that mutually beneficial
cooperation and common development remain "the
defining feature of our business relations".
Hu calls for win-win results at Gates'
mansion At a Tuesday night dinner at the
mansion of Microsoft boss Bill Gates, Hu called
for joint efforts to achieve reciprocal and
win-win results in Sino-US ties.
As long
as China and the United States view and handle
bilateral relations from a strategic height and
long-term perspective, seize their common
strategic interests, and enhance exchanges and
cooperation with mutual respect and on an equal
footing, they will realize the reciprocal and
win-win results, Hu said.
At the dinner,
officially hosted by Washington state Governor
Christine Gregoire despite its location, Hu said
China and the US share common aspirations for
promoting their economic and social development
and common strategic interests in a wide range of
areas - from safeguarding world peace to promoting
global economic growth.
Hu said that
during his current visit to the US he would
exchange views with President Bush and other US
leaders on bilateral relations and major
international and regional issues so as to advance
the bilateral constructive and cooperative
relationship jointly.
At a meeting in
Seattle on Tuesday with Gregoire, Hu noted that
Washington state enjoys very close and fruitful
exchanges and cooperation with China in economy,
trade, education, health, science and technology.
He said the two sides will have broader prospects
for mutually beneficial cooperation as China's
reform and opening-up deepens. He encouraged local
business people to strengthen exchanges with the
Chinese side.
Gregoire said she hoped
bilateral cooperation would continue to grow in
such fields as economy, trade, health, education,
science and technology.
Also on Tuesday,
China's State Development and Reform Commission
and Microsoft Corporation signed a memorandum of
understanding in Seattle on further strengthening
bilateral cooperation in software. Both sides
agreed that bilateral cooperation in the coming
five years will cover technology development,
hardware purchase, software outsourcing, technical
cooperation, personnel training and expansion of
investment in China's software businesses.
The Chinese president paid a visit on
Tuesday afternoon to Redmond-based Microsoft,
where he told Gates that he was satisfied with
bilateral cooperation and hoped to expand such
cooperation.
The Microsoft chairman said
the Chinese government stresses innovation and his
company takes innovation as a key, which forms a
firmer foundation for bilateral cooperation. He
also expressed his appreciation for the Chinese
government's efforts and achievements in the
protection of intellectual-property rights (IPR).
Beijing official clarifies IPR
stance On Wednesday an official in Beijing
stressed China's desire to give overseas companies
confidence in its efforts to protect IPR.
"The talks between President Hu Jintao and
Bill Gates are not about saying that China in the
future will not have any problems with pirated
software," Wang Ziqiang, spokesman for the State
Copyright Bureau, told a press conference. "These
talks are an epitome to show the stance of the
Chinese government in protecting IPR and cracking
down on IPR violations."
Hu's meeting with
Gates in Seattle on Tuesday was partly intended to
give overseas investors and firms confidence in
China's determination to crack down on
intellectual-property violations and to believe
that piracy can be confined to a limited scale
with the consistent efforts of the Chinese
government, Wang acknowledged.
China has
adopted regulations recently that computers sold
in China, whether imported or made in China, must
be pre-installed with a legal operating system, as
an efficient, substantial effort to beef up the
protection of intellectual-property rights.
Wang also disputed statements made by US
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez that up to 70%
of software on Chinese government computers was
pirated. "Gutierrez' statement is not backed by
any facts and is therefore unfounded," he said.
Wang said the process of legitimate
software use on government computers involves
reporting to the government procurement department
at a higher level for the amount of legitimate
software after a thorough checkup for pirated
software, after which the government conducts the
procurement and pays the associated expenses.
However, he did not cite any data showing the
extent to which Chinese government agencies follow
this procedure.
The Chinese central
government is expected to allocate up to 150
million yuan ($18.7 million) for
legitimate-software purchases for government
computers, Wang said. China is also working hard
to promote legitimate software use in enterprises,
especially in the state-owned firms where the
government has more control, said Zhang Qin, vice
commissioner of the State Intellectual Property
Office.
