China-US.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
U.S. President Barack Obama was seen strolling on Tuesday with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Zhongnanhai, an area in Beijing known to be the heart of China's government.
The relaxed stroll between the two leaders took place after the meeting of APEC economic leaders. A brief dinner and meeting followed. Many see the stroll as an attempt of both Obama and Xi to informally discuss high-level issues on Wednesday.
During the stroll, Xi was seen introducing Obama to the history of Ying Tai, an imperial palace, while standing on a Chinese bridge. He also told Obama that it is important to understand the aspirations of the Chinese people and the path they are more likely to take.
Observers of the APEC Summit see key global issues that will be the focal point of high-stakes discussions. These include topics on climate change, security, economy and terrorism. They believe the APEC meetings will provide a blueprint that would boost the ties between China and the U.S.
According to Niu Xinchun, a senior expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, the U.S. and China must deal with their differences over the highly contested and disputed territorial issues in the Asian region.
Niu added that both countries also need to deal with Free Trade Area talks in the region, including the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement.
Recently, China and the United States reached an understanding to reduce tariff on information technology based on the Information Technology Act (ITA). Developments in ITA were briefly suspended November of last year because the two countries could not resolve their differences.
This time around, both China and the U.S. have agreed to increase the pace of ITA's expansion, and many expect that it would help cut almost $1 trillion in tariffs on high-tech-related products.
