host: richard mcgregor is the bureau chief for "the washington times."oking at the news related to the visit." let's begin with what china will want for -- one from the united states. what is the chinese president saying to barack obama? guest: to some extent i think that they would like to cool down the aggravation that has taken over the ties to the u.s. lately. china depends on a stable environment. they depend on trade. really, the relationship has gotten out of kilter over the last few years. they would like tactical reassurance. china obvious as the once parts of america. we want technology from the u.s.. we get to see a deal involving general of electric, which we could talk about later, which is interesting. they want that tactical reassurance. host: we had one caller that we were talking to about u.s.-china relations. one caller said that he wanted to hear tough language from barack obama. caller: i cannot speak to guest: i cannot speak for the administration, but i would guess that there would be some tough language from the u.s. laced with a l

covering it for the financial times, there bureau chief richard mcgregor -- their bureau chief richard mcgregor. "the washington times." "looking at the news related to the visit." let's begin with what china will want for -- one from the united states. what is the chinese president saying to barack obama? guest: to some extent i think that they would like to cool down the aggravation that has taken over the ties to the u.s. lately. china depends on a stable environment. they depend on trade. really, the relationship has gotten out of kilter over the last few years. they would like tactical reassurance. china obvious as the once parts of america. we want technology from the u.s.. we get to see a deal involving general of electric, which we could talk about later, which is interesting. they want that tactical reassurance. host: we had one caller that we were talking to about u.s.-china relations. one caller said that he wanted to hear tough language from barack obama. caller: i cannot speak to guest: i cannot speak for the administration, but i would guess that there would be some tough

let me.... >> thank you. >> charlie: richard mcgregor you were bureau chief as i remember also in beijing. what are the expectations for this and where do the two countries come to this meeting in looking at each other? >> i think they come at a meeting at a very frosty time in relations. when president obama came to town two years ago the u.s. frankly wasn't quite wanting... it was very weak. i think china sensed that and has been very unreceptive to the obama administration on a number of fronts but, you know, the u.s. in china is one of these relationships which is too big to fire if you like. of course maybe that's not a good analogy because like banks and insurers, some of them that were too big to file did file. but i think this summit, the medium is the message. you know, it's about the meeting. it's about the atmospherics and the personal connections. it's about restabilizing a relationship that is tremendously important to both countries not just the u.s. but to china as well. i think we'll see a tougher u.s. and not a china giving way. i think, you know, four days together is go

richard mcgregor? guest: i agree, there is no reason to demonize the chinese people. their achievements -- mr. this traditional culture, as you say. millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. we should not underestimate the challenge facing that country. it is a massive task. in many respects, they have done very well. host: what is the state of hu jintao's presidency? when secretary gates went to china, there seem to be a test of military power that they had no idea of. guest: i do not buy that. when hearing about this test, -- maybe he did not know -- but i do not buy that. his most important title is not president, it is party secretary of the communist party. that puts him above the military. the military is a powerful interest group but the political party is still in control. the second point is, mr. hu himself, compared to past leaders, is something of a week later. he is like your super pure crap. -- a bureaucrat. that makes it hard to get a decision. he has got to persuade everybody. so he is not the strongest leader and people should not expect him

shall overcome someday ♪ [applause] >> on komsomol's "washington journal", we will talk with richard mcgregor"washington journal", we will talk with richard jintao's on inclusion tehu visit. later, trevor potter joins us. and the house debate -- will debate a repealing of the health care law tomorrow. live coverage begins at noon eastern. >> you are watching c-span, bring you politics and public affairs. every morning, it is "washington journal", a live call and program about the news of the day. weekdays, watch live coverage of the house and weeknights, congressional hearings and policy forms. also, supreme court oral arguments. on the weekends, you can see our interview programs. on saturday, "the communicators". on sunday, "newsmakers", "q&a", and prime minister's questions. you can watch our programming any time at c-span.org. washington you're white. a public service created by america's cable companies -- washington your way. >> today, president obama spent the martin luther king holiday volunteering at a middle school in washington. that is later on c-span. after that, and national pra

. >> host: richard mcgregor. bill, on the republican line, you're on the air. >> caller: hi. good morning. the united states, you know, alaska possesses 16 trillion tons of recoverable high quality coal which is enough for 300 years for the needs of the united states. we sell an enormous amount of this coal to china at the time. if we slow things down, we can jack up the price of the could and slow down consumption. >> guest: that wouldn't work. china has tons of coal itself. it has other countries beeping over backwards to sell it to china. a coal boy boycott of china would fall flat on its face. sorry to tell you. >> host: democratic line, you're next. >> caller: let me thank you for the great work you do and allowing individuals like us to voice our opinion, but i noticed -- and i watch a lot of c-span, but i noticed a lot of callers call in and never heard anyone mention anything what -- [inaudible] the other thought is that -- >> host: we didn't hear you. what's the first thought? >> caller: is there any country that is in the united states at all? second thought is do y