U.S., Chinese Presidents to meet June 7-8 in California

May 21, 2013 - 09:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold their first meeting since Xi became president in March when they sit down for a June 7-8 summit in Rancho Mirage, California, the White House announced on Monday, May 20.

According to Reuters, the two leaders are likely to discuss ways to apply pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program after a period of bellicose rhetoric and threats from Pyongyang.

The United States also has concerns about cyber attacks it says are emanating from China. Washington would also like China to allow its currency to rise against the dollar to improve U.S. trade.

American concerns about tensions in the South China Sea due to conflicting territorial claims are also a possible topic of discussion.

"President Obama and President Xi will hold in-depth discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues," the White House said in a statement.

"They will review progress and challenges in U.S.-China relations over the past four years and discuss ways to enhance cooperation, while constructively managing our differences, in the years ahead," it said.

The meeting will be the first between the two leaders since Xi took over as China's president in March.

The leaders will meet at Sunnylands, a 200-acre (80-hectare) estate on Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage, California. Sunnylands is the former estate of the late philanthropist Walter Annenberg, who frequently hosted President Ronald Reagan there.

The fact that they will devote two days to the talks shows an intent by the two leaders to build a closer relationship. White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon will travel to Beijing to meet Chinese officials May 26-28 to prepare for the Xi visit.

As part of his trip to the Americas, Xi is also set to make state visits to Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Costa Rica, according to an official from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited in Chinese news portal Xinhua on Monday.