In First China Trip, Obama Criticizes Internet Censorship

November 16, 2009 7:29 a.m. EST

Shanghai, China (AHN) - President Barack Obama on Sunday sought to strengthen ties with one of the biggest trade partners of the United States while still criticizing, albeit indirectly, Internet censorship in China. Obama is in his first trip to the communist nation, part of his maiden tour of Asia since assuming office.

In a town hall meeting with university students at the Museum of Science and Technology in Shanghai, the President cited the already strong alliance between the two countries, with trade between them at over $400 billion a year and with the second highest number of foreign students in the United States coming from China.

"We have a positive relationship that opens the door to partnership on the key global issues of our time -- economic recovery and the development of clean energy; stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and the scourge of climate change," he said. "Our relationship has not been without disagreement and difficulty. But the notion that we must be adversaries is not predestined -- not when we consider the past. Indeed, because of our cooperation, both the United States and China are more prosperous and more secure."

"There are very few global challenges that can be solved unless the United States and China agree," Obama added.

Replying to a question submitted online and read by U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman about China's Great Firewall and if Twitter "should be used freely, the President said, "I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can hold their own governments accountable."

"I'm a big supporter of non-censorship... I recognize that different countries have different traditions. I can tell you that in the United States, the fact that we have free Internet -- or unrestricted Internet access is a source of strength... I actually think that that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader because it forces me to hear opinions that I don't want to hear."

Obama did not directly address other aspects of China's poor human rights record, including the arrest of Tibetan monks during last year's riots, and the alleged discrimination of Uighur Muslims, a Turkic-speaking minority in the northwest of the country.

"These freedoms of expression and worship -- of access to information and political participation -- we believe are universal rights," he said. "They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities -- whether they are in the United States, China, or any nation."

Obama is on his third stop in a week-long Asian tour that began with a visit to Tokyo on Friday, and continued with talks with ASEAN leaders at the APEC Summit in Singapore on Saturday.

Earlier on Sunday, he met with the mayor of Shanghai and Communist Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng. Obama meets with President Hu Jintao in the evening. The two leaders then have dinner later in the Banquet Hall of the Diaoyutai State Guest House, and on Tuesday hold another bilateral on a range of issues including energy and the economy.

Climate change and denuclearization of North Korea will be key items on the agenda of Obama and Hu's talks.

The United States and China are the world's two top emitters of greenhouse gases. The two nations are seeking to find consensus before a key climate change conference next month in Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto protocol.

The United States adopted a 2°C global warming limit as part of a Group of Eight agreement in July. That G8 summit in Italy also yielded "unprecedented commitments" from the 16-member Major Economies Forum and other developing nations on the goal of reducing greenhouse emissions by half by 2050. The emissions target includes an 80 percent reduction by industrialized nations, a concession China and India had refused to accept.

Obama late Monday goes on sightseeing tour of the city, and caps off the day with a state dinner. On Wednesday, he meets with Premiere Wen Jiabao and continues his tour of Beijing.

He travels later that day to his last stop, South Korea, where he meets with President Lee Myung-bak and visit U.S. troops stationed in the country. On top of the agenda in the discussions in Seoul will be the Six Party Talks.

The United States is one of five nations negotiating with the North Korea about denuclearization. The other parties are China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.

North Korea conducted a nuclear test in May, and later ended the 1953 ceasefire agreement ratified after Korean War with South Korea. The communist nation received tougher sanctions from the United Nations Security Council in June, in large part due to U.S. efforts, but remained defiant, warning "all-out war" to any nation that violates its sovereignty.

Last week, a naval skirmish occurred between North Korea and South Korea, heightening tensions in the peninsula.

The United States, which has no official ties with Pyongyang, announced this week it would hold its first direct talks with North Korea. A small delegation of American officials led by Amb. Stephen Bosworth will travel to Pyongyang "at an appropriate time not yet determined" to restart Six Party Talks.