Obama in Beijing, economic recovery, N-disarmament on agenda

US president Barack Obama said global economic recovery, nuclear disarmament and climate change will top the agenda during his talks with the Chinese leadership as he arrived here on his maiden state visit.

Chinese vice president Xi Jinping greeted the 48-year-old leader at the airport after he flew into the Chinese capital from the eastern metropolis of Shanghai.

During his stay here, Obama will meet top Chinese leaders and discuss bilateral, international and regional issues.

He would discuss economic recovery, climate change and stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in his talks with president Hu Jintao, Obama was quoted by official Xinhua news agency as telling Chinese students during an interaction at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum earlier in the day.

Other key issues he would raise were development of clean energy and promotion of peace and security in Asia, he said.

Addressing the students, Obama said the US does not seek to contain China's rise and he welcomes it as a "strong, prosperous and successful member of the community of nations."

While making it clear that the US does "not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation," Obama said, "but we also don't believe that the principles that we stand for our unique to our nation."

"These freedoms of expression, and worship, of access to information and political participation we believe they are universal rights. They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities, whether they are in the United States, China or any nation." Obama said the world is fundamentally interconnected and power in the 21st century is no longer a zero-sum game.

"The jobs we do, the prosperity we build, the environment we protect and the security we seek are all shared," he told the audience. "One country's success does not come at the expense of another."

Calling the US-China ties "positive, constructive and comprehensive", Obama said the relationship opens the door to partnership on key global issues. Very few global challenges can be solved unless US and China agree, he said.

The world's most developed nation and the fastest-growing country differ over binding targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. China and the US are also divided over how to deal with Iran's nulear ambitions.

Obama the US would continue to fully support the one-China policy, and would be very pleased to see the improving cross-strait relationship. 

He said the US and China are not "predestined adversaries," as the two countries "share much in common" while "are different in certain ways."

Quoting the ancient Chinese saying that "Consider the past and you shall know the future," Obama said the US and China have known setbacks and challenges over the last 30 years, and he was looking forward to deepening the partnership between the two nations.

He announced the US would expand the number of students to study in China to 1,00,000 to enhance the ties.

Obama arrived in Shanghai late on Sunday to begin his four-day state visit to China. He is slated to leave Beijing for South Korea on Wednesday afternoon.