VOA News
18 March 2010
By:  Stephanie Ho

The U.S. ambassador to China says the two countries should not let disagreements prevent them from working together on a range of global issues. But shortly after those comments, a Chinese official rejected international calls to allow the country’s currency to appreciate.

In a speech at China’s elite Tsinghua University Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman stressed the importance of the United States and China working together.

Ambassador Huntsman said the Obama administration’s first year in office focused on building a Sino-American relationship that is now being tested in its second year.

“To put our relationship on a more stable and mature footing, we have to de-link our differences on bilateral issues from our cooperation on global issues, including nonproliferation,” he said.

One of the main issues of contention is a U.S. government sale of weapons to Taiwan, a separately governed island China regards as its territory. Another irritant is President Obama’s meeting last month with Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. China accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking independence for Tibet, which is a Chinese region.

One Tsinghua student asked Huntsman about another thorny issue, increasingly louder calls for China to allow its currency to rise in value.

“My Chinese friends like to picture this as just an American issue and I would like to say that there are many countries that feel the same way, many of China’s largest trading partners feel that way,” said Huntsman. “I was with some yesterday. There are some in Europe, some in South America, but more than that the IMF, which is not a country, but has many country participants, has spoken out on this issue.”    more …