Chinese President Hu Jintao Warns of Cultural Warfare from West

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The West is using cultural warfare to divide China, Chinese President Hu Jintao warned his Community [sic] Party on Monday.

Mr Hu called on the 80 million-plus Party members to fight "hostile international powers" and meet the "cultural demands" of the people.

"Hostile international powers are strengthening their efforts to Westernise and divide us," Mr Hu wrote in the latest edition of Communist Party's magazine, Seeking the Truth.

"We must be aware of the seriousness and complexity of the struggles and take powerful measures to prevent and deal with them," he warned in his article.

Mr Hu was writing in the revolutionary magazine used by Chairman Mao to spread his ideology after it was launched in 1958.

"The international culture of the West is strong while we are weak," Mr Hu's article said. "Ideological and cultural fields are their [western forces'] main targets," Mr Hu wrote.


He also said the Party must meet the "growing spiritual and cultural demands of the people". » | Peter Simpson in Beijing | Monday, January 02, 2012

US Senate Leader Calls Hu Jintao 'a Dictator'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Leading Democrat Harry Reid has called Chinese President Hu Jintao "a dictator" during a television interview before quickly backtracking on his comment.

The Senate majority leader made the accusation during an outspoken interview given to a Nevada station.

He said: "I'm going to go back to Washington tomorrow to meet with the president of China. He is a dictator. He can do a lot of things through the form of government they have."

Realising the strength of his statement, Mr Reid immediately appeared to backtrack, saying: "Maybe I shouldn't have said 'dictator''. >>> Daniel Bird | Friday, January 21, 2011

An All-American State Dinner for Chinese President
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: It was jazz on stage and a mix of Hollywood A-listers, big business types and prominent Chinese-Americans in the audience on Wednesday night as Michelle and Barack Obama threw a "quintessentially American" state dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao.

What was for dinner at the hottest event in town? Meat and potatoes, washed down with apple pie and ice cream for dessert, of course.

Singer Barbra Streisand, her husband-actor James Brolin and action film star Jackie Chan were supplying some of the celebrity star power for the A-list guest list.

Big business turned out in force, too, including Microsoft's Steven Ballmer and JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, among others. Other big names: fashion's Vera Wang, Vogue's Anna Wintour, artist Maya Lin, Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan, and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to add some gravitas. Bill Clinton made the cut, too. >>> | Thursday, January 20, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama welcomes Hu Jintao with human rights rebuke: Barack Obama issued a challenge to the Chinese president over the country's human rights record as he made his welcoming address at the White House. >>> Toby Harnden, in Washington | Wednesday, January 19, 2011


AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: China's Hu admits rights failings: At meetings with US counterpart, Chinese leader says "a lot still needs to be done" on human rights in his country. >>> Source: Al Jazeera and agencies | Wednesday, January 19, 2011

China on Equal Footing with US as Hu Jintao Visits Washington
THE GUARDIAN: China's inferiority in 'hard power' has turned to Beijing's advantage, and signs of its growing 'soft power' abound

Hu Jintao, accompanied by the US vice-president, Joe Biden, receives a red-carpet reception at Andrews air force base in Maryland. Photograph: The Guardian
The last time Hu Jintao arrived in Washington, back in 2006, he was given a White House working lunch, and by all accounts never forgave George W Bush for the perceived insult.

In contrast, it is highly unlikely China's leader could find fault with the welcome laid out by the Obama administration: a private White House dinner tonight to be followed later in the week by a full state banquet, a 21-gun salute and all the pomp and circumstance of a review of the troops.

The message is absolutely clear – these are the world's two leading powers meeting together as equals. It is that sense of equal status that distinguishes this Washington summit from earlier such encounters. >>> Julian Borger, Ewen MacAskill and Phillip Inman | Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Kim Jong-il to Meet with Hu Jintao in China
THE TELEGRAPH: The reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is expected to arrive in Beijing later today for talks with China's president Hu Jintao as he seeks to shore up his country's bankrupt economy and negotiate a way out of the international diplomatic isolation of recent months.



Neither Beijing or Pyongyang has confirmed the visit, but Mr Kim, with his easily recognisable sunglasses and frizzy hair, was photographed in the port city of Dalian where he arrived on Monday from North Korea in his 17-carriage armoured train.

This visit came as South Korea moved closer to blaming the Pyongyang for the sinking of one of its warships last March in an incident that has further raised tensions between the two Koreas in recent weeks.

The South's president Lee Myung-Bak told a televised meeting of his chiefs of staff that it was clear that the sinking was not a "simple accident" and ordered a thorough review of Seoul's military readiness in light of the apparent attack on the 1,200 tonne corvette Cheonan.

Analysts said the sinking, which Pyongyang has denied, was expected to be on the agenda of talks with Chinese leaders along with the North's desperate need for economic aid, including food and fuel.

A disastrous attempt to reform the North Korean currency last November is thought to have deepened the country's economic woes, raising the threat of a repeat of the famines of the mid 1990s. >>> Peter Foster in Beijing | Tuesday, May 04, 2010