he greeted vice president xi jinping at the white house. xi is expected to become head of the ruling communist party this fall. >> translator: i look forward to my in-depth discussion with you, president obama. >> obama told xi china must play fair with its trade partners around the world. >> we want to work with china to make sure everybody is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system, and that includes ensuring that there is a balanced trade flow between not only the united states and china but around the world. >> obama urged xi to recognize the importance of human rights. he said increased responsibility goes hand in hand with power and prosperity. xi said he hopes his visit will deepen mutual understanding and lead to greater consensus. he said the countries should build a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and interest, but he suggested the two need to acknowledge their differences. u.s. leaders are extending an unprecedented level of hospitality to xi. vice president joe biden is ac

nhk world, washington. >> xi met with his counterpart, u.s. vice president joe biden, at a luncheon held by secretary of state hillary clinton in xi's honor in washington on tuesday. the two vice presidents got into a debate over the human rights situation in china. biden criticized china's human rights policies while xi defended his government. >> we see our advocacy for human rights as a fundamental aspect of our foreign policy and we believe a key to the prosperity and stability of all societies. >> biden said he believes the situation in china is worsening. in response, xi stressed china has made tremendous progress over the past 30 years. >> translator: we will, in light of china's national conditions, continue to take concrete measures and craft effective policies to promote social fairness, justice, and harmony and push forward china's cause of human rights. >> xi said that when it comes to human rights, there is never a best scenario, only a better one with room for improvement. he added china has a huge population and the different re

xi wanted to know everything about iowa corn.85, he was the provincial manager of the animal feed supply. he was very easy to be around. very genuine. very sincere. did i know he was going to rise to be president of china? absolutely not. >> reporter: didn't see that coming? >> no. >> reporter: which explains why the residents of muscatine didn't see his visit coming, either. they remembered xi but had no idea he'd grown powerful. >> wow. wow. and i thought what a wonderful opportunity we are going to have here to meet him. >> reporter: the visit will begin with tea and with one rule: the only guests are the 17 people he met and knew in 1985. he hasn't said why, but they are all the people who treated him as someone of great importance long before he knew that's who he would be. wyatt andrews, cbs news, muscatine, iowa. >> pelley: xi's visit got us wondering how china elects a president. our research department looked into it. it turns out candidates are groomed for years in a number of high-level posts and then nine top members

they hope that xi's visit will help bridge the divide.ing xi's trip, both sides are getting a fresh view of their partner and a chance to reset the tone of an ever-evolving affa affair. >> after 30 years maybe i'm finally learning to shut up and give her some space for a few minutes. it's important to learn to count to ten and to think things through and to pick the battles that are worth it. >> reporter: not such a bad idea for any couple celebrating 30 years of marriage. and xi is going to be taking over china at a very important time, a time of enormous change. and this is going to be when a country is moving from year after year of nearly guaranteed vast economic growth to a slower sustainable economy with a growing rich/poor divide. nina? >> now, eunice you've been following the situation for quite a while. he's been the heir apparent for quite a while. is he well equipped to handle this kind of challenge from what you've seen? >> he did suffer during the cultural revolution and a lot of people have said he's able to identify with lo

leadededededededed hospitality to xi. vice president joe biden is accompanying him to most of his destinations. republican party leaders criticized the administration for being too soft on china. >>> pakistan's air force is in talks with china over a possible purchase of the country's mainstay fighter jets. the deputy chief of the staff said that china delivered one surveillance aircraft last month, and pakistan will receive three more this year. pakistan bought the aircraft to boost its defense capabilities. the official noted that the air force is considering a proposal to buy ten fighter jets from china, and pakistan's military has been deepening ties with china and buying more chinese defense equipment and weapons in recent years. america says that pakistan is seeking chinese support to upgrade the equipment as the country continues to have strained relations with the u.s. >>> asia's largest aviation fair is under way in singapore with the most up-to-date models of fighter jets and civilian aircraft on display. a reco

xi. >> reporter: cynthia and dick were thrilled when they found out that xi jinping is coming back toir small town. >> i went upstairs and looked in my photo albums and found these pictures. >> reporter: there he is, the likely next leader of china, in their kitchen in 1985. he didn't speak much english, but that didn't matter. >> it was a smile and a twinkle and offered a piece of cake and it's not all that complicated. >> reporter: xi, who met with president obama on tuesday, wants to see them again, along with about 17 others he met on his trip 27 years ago. >> yeah, well, he had the itinerary from his visit. >> reporter: iowa governor terry branstead was serving his first stint as governor when xi came in '85. the two met again last fall in beijing, and branstead says the next chinese leader said he wanted to come back. >> he was so warm and pleased with the welcome he received and considers iowans his old friend. >> for years, he was known for his chinese singer wife, but he represents a new generation of leaders. jon huntsman believes xi could be good for business. >> he's gone

xi jinping spent his formative years out here, china's poor interior. he was sent to labor as a teenager. villagers stopped us filming outside his homer felt -- former home. digging too deep into the past of the man who might be president is not welcome. it might be sensitive, but for xi jinping, the time he spent here matters for his image. the communist party wants to paint him as someone who has experienced a life of china's poorest. he has claimed the hardships he faced here have given him the will power to take on any challenge. one of the toughest will be tackling china's huge and growing inequality. some families still live in a cave and get no vote to choose china's next president. what they think of him still matters. >> xi jinping lived here. he knew this place. if he becomes leader, it will be good for us. >> living in caves may have hardened xi. he has little time for china's critics. these are some of the only unguarded comments he has made. >> some have nothing better to do them. fingers at us. we do not cause trouble for them. what else d

today, xi faced human rights protesters at the white house. and criticism from president obama about human rights and unfair trade practices. >> with expanding power and prosperity also comes increased responsibilities. and so we want to work with china to make sure that everybody is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system. >> reporter: u.s. officials are sizing xi up. his background provides some clues. xi's father, one of china's original revolutionaries was purged by mao and jailed for being too pro reform. xi himself was exiled for seven years to a work camp during the cultural revolution. his daughter attends harvard. his nephew is at georgetown. and in 1985, xi went to iowa to learn how to raise hogs. >> he slept in the kids' rooms with "star wars" on the wall. he sat around our dining room table. we just gave him an iowa welcome. >> reporter: xi is said to like world war ii movies like "saving private ryan." and in china last summer, joe biden shot hoops with him. but today, biden pointedly said

xi wants to create an ambience of friendship. >> translator: china hopes xi's visit will dismantle a kind of distorted image of china that the u.s. media has built. >> reporter: xi may have a tough time doing that. organizers have restricted access to the media and no press conferences are planned. >> about 250 tibetans took to the streets in washington. they criticized the chinese government for its crackdown on ethnic tibetans. the demonstrators marched to the white house. they shouted anti-china slogans on the called on the president to express his support for tibet. >> i want president obama to know that he should seize this historic opportunity to put the strongest pressure on jingping to stop the atrocities in tibet. >> people in ethnic tibetan regions have died in clashes with police. monks have burned themselves to death in protest. >>> another opponent of china's government says president obama should pressure xi over the detention of prodemocracy activists. a dissident writer is seek political asylum in the united states. >> translator: a peace prize laureate himself, presi

today, xi jinping made the rounds in china while conceding the need for civil rights. >> xi jinping is known to be a fan of hollywood war films. in the oval office, a first date. a chance to see how we feels about iran, syria, and a growing u.s. presence in asia. >> we are a growing nation and we are very interested and focused on continuing to strengthen our relationships and to enhance our trade and commerce and nature that we are a strong and effective partner. >> mr. xi said that he was here to reinforce the vacations' and friendship but that the discussions would be frank. there is a strategic pivot toward asia. >> this is an integrated strategy of human-rights, economics covering asia from india to tokyo and the chinese are nervous about it. >> outside the talks, a vocal commander of that wherever china goes, controversy follows. they were here for tibet, taiwan, and human rights. they are a feature of every chinese visit here, a reminder of how complex the relationship is. there is an extra factor in play. the u.s. presidential election because china has become a political footb

vice-president xi first came to the united states on an exchange program 25 years ago to iowa, and he will travel there tomorrow to see some old friends. that visit illustrates how important the bonds between our people are. that is why we support programs like 100,000 strong, for american students to study in china. and many more people-to-people exchanges. >> [speaking in chinese] >> so, it is a vague -- great present -- pledging to welcome vice president's xi and to celebrate the bonds of friendship between our nations governments and peoples and it is now my great honor to introduce vice-president biden. >> thank you all >> thank you all for being here and it is my honor to welcome vice president xi and the entire delegation. >> [speaking in chinese] i told vice-president xi his visit to iowa tomorrow will assure him more delegates than i got. [laughter] and mr. vice president, this is not part of the script, but lindsey graham is relieved you did not show up in january -- you may have won the republican nomination. secretary kissinger, you can see formality is still my forte. mad

xi jinping is known tour a fan of hollywood war films but much else about him is unknown. so in the oval office on valentine's day, a first date, a chance to see how he feels about iran, syria and growing u.s. presence in asia. >> the united states is a pacific nation and we are very issued and focused on continuing to strengthen our relationships, to enhance our trade and our commerce and make sure that we are a strong and effective partner. >> mr. xi replies he was here based on mutual understanding and friendship but warned the discussions would be candid. the chinese want to know more about a repositioning of u.s. military assets, part of what washington calls a strategic pivot towards asia. >> this is an integrated strategy, security, diplomacy, economics, even human rights covering asia from anthony -- india to tokyo and the chinese are nervous about it. >> outside the talks, reminder that wherever china go, controversy follows. they were here for tibet, taiwan and human rights. the protestors are a feature of every chinese visit here, yet another sign of just how co

for more than three years, we have been looking night and day for gao xi zhung. we have never stopped asking where is he? how is he doing? i myself have traveled all over the united states and to europe, many times, calling for gao's release. unfortunately, the situation is getting worse. we don't even have a way of confirming that gao is still alive today. our fears grow with each passing day. so we ernestly hope the free western world will abandon the acquired diplomacy and hope it will speak up and urge china that is a signatory of the declaration of human rights and the international covenant on civil and political rights to abide by both its own domestic law, as well as the international laws. to abolish the use of torture and to immediately release gao and stop persecuting his family. because of him. and china should be held accountable for gao's case. on the occasion of the visit to the united states by vice president xi jinping, the next leader of the china and the chinese communist party, we're filled once more with hope. hoping that the meetings between

and tomorrow, xi will return to muscatine, iowa, where in 1985, xi, then just a mid-level communist official, visited to learn about hog-raising techniques. he spent two nights in this home with an iowa family in their college-age son's bedroom. which was festooned at the time with "star trek" decorations. sarah lande helped coordinate that visit. >> we really welcomed him into our homes as one of us. you know, he slept in the kids' rooms. he sat around our dining room tables. we just gave him an iowa welcome. >> reporter: xi will soon have a lot on his plate. and the u.s., while welcoming, is skeptical. >> we want to work with china to make sure that everybody is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system. >> reporter: among the problems, officials here believe china is manipulating its currency to keep its own prices low, hurting american workers. u.s. companies constantly campaign about chinese theft of intellectual property. check out this chinese car made to look like a ford. and then, of course, the concerns of these protesters outside the white ho

xi stopped off at the cliffs, one of the country's most stunning natural landmarks. showcasing ireland with chinese audiences, a welcome spinoff of this visit. mr. xi's irish trip will be shown on television screens all over china, making tourists, as well as investors, it's hoped, aware of what ireland has to offer. ruth mcdonald, bbc news, dublin. >> it's now two months since the devastating floods that hit the southern philippines, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving many more homeless. officials admit that deforest asian was the cause of much of the construction, and the government says it renewed efforts to prevent any more trees being cut down. but the bbc has seen evidence that logging is still continuing. kate mcgeown reports from one of the worst affected areas. >> the logs that destroyed this city are now being used to rebuild it. two months after torrential rains brought devastation to this part of the philippines, there's a growing realization that it wasn't the water, but the logs it brought with it. it was the disaster's biggest killer. >> maybe

so xi jinping will become the next top leader in the next year.o it is very important for the leaders to build relations. >> what about the chinese vice president? what does he hope to achieve? is this only and getting to know you visit? >> for him, this is very much of visit initiated by the u.s. the top leadership of the visit to the united states. it happened in 1979. then hu jintao visited the u.s. the chinese leadership is rather opaque. to deal person to person, understanding that is very important for both parties, it is better for the u.s. >> if the vice president becomes the next leader of china -- is still not confirmed -- how different will he lead china vis-À-vis the current leaders such as hu jintao and wen jiabao? >> that is a hypothetical question, but my educated guess is that he likely will become, for an economic standpoint, he could be more liberal because of his experience. his family suffered during the cultural revolution. he worked in the coastal areas. he could be more liberal than the current leadership. but he could also,

and china was on full display today as chinese vice president xi continued his trip across america. in washington, xi talked up the business relationship between the two countries while several states away president obama pushed policies that would crack down on china's trade practices. darren gersh takes a look at the future of business between the two countries. >> reporter: the man set to become china's next leader compared the relationship between the u.s. and china to an unstoppable river, one that has created the fastest growing export market for u.s. manufacturers. chinese vice president xi jinping's speech to business leaders was polite, but also drove home a key point. u.s.-chi trade will top half a trillion dollars this year. >> once open, the door to local exchanges and cooperation between china and the united states cannot be closed by any force. on the contrary, it will only be opened wider and wider. >> reporter: but shortly after xi spoke, president obama was in milwaukee trying to hold back the river. the president came to this masterlock factory because it has broug

jim, you were at the lunch for xi jinping. say that he strikes you immediately as a different kind of chinese leader. warmer, more personable. did you feel that way? >> it's hard to judge, of course, seeing a person in a ceremonial event like that, but certainly i have seen hu jintao in a similar setting and hu jintao seemed a more stolid expressionless character. mr. xi was talking about his adventures in iowa, what that meant to him. what was striking is that just before he spoke, vice president biden gave what was a very, very tough toast by the standards of these kind of events talking about currency valuation, human rights, and all the rest. so that made for a different sort of diplomatic encounter than normal. >> people who were there tell me it seemed almost rude what biden did in the context of a ceremonial state occasion. one of the observers said we seemed like the yahoos and they seemed like the sophisticated war power kind of -- >> it certainly was startling to me. we've all seen events like this before, and usuall

xi jinping arrives in california for a two-day visit hosted by state governor jerry brown. visit will include a tour of the port of los angeles, china shipping terminal, which is undergoing an upgrade as sign of u.s. trade continues to grow. >>> those are the headlines from cnn, the world's news leader. i'm monita rajpal. "world business today" starts right now. >>> good morning from cnn london, i'm nina dos santos. >> and good afternoon from cnn hong kong, i'm andrew stevens and you're watching "world business today." the top stories this thursday, february 16th. the accounting scandal surrounding olympus escalates. seven arrests are made regarding the billion dollar fraud of the jab these cameramaker. >>> greece's finance minister has been ramping up the rhetoric suggesting that some key eurozone players want to see his country default on its debts. >>> and qantas shares fly high as the company unveils cost-cutting plans. it's bad news for 500 staff who face losing their job. >>> seven men have been arrested in connection with a $1.7 billion fraud at olympus. the company'

someone like xi jinping who is well schooled, well-respected. army, ile's liberation would argue that after a year of consolidating his power, he will have an opportunity by virtue of new leadership of actually engaging in some meaningful change. >> do you think that he is interested in change? >> i believe that he is politically savvy enough and astute enough to know that he has no change because he is up against reform elements in china. when you consider that china has 500 million internet users, and a very restive population looking for change. they're looking for political reform. they're looking for recognition of basic human rights. there looking for greater tolerance of greater aspects of society. if such accommodations aren't made in the next couple of years, you could argue that there could be a head-on collision between those reform- minded elements and the keepers of the status quo with the population. >> it is a good thing to be seen as a friend of the chinese. there is a lot of pressure to be tough on china. does america have it ri

i think xi jinping is savvy politically. i suspect the 23450 team within the standing committee of the politburo will recollect nays -- recognize the need to want to sit down and make a few accommodations at the right time. >> charlie: where might those accommodations be? >> well i'm guessing that we're going to have to deal with three major concerns that are fall into their lapse very very soon after they take power. one of which the question of whether or not china's becoming more repressive toward its people. i believe the answer and that will require some sort of domestic fix, whether it is greater openness and tolerance toward dissent. whether it's opening up the political party to accommodate some sort of approach toward choosing officials based on a vote. in other words, demonstrat demog the party within its own elections. whether it's articulating a role for the internet in society, providing less in the way of rode blocks toward openness and expression. and how they deal with tibet. this will be part of the discussi