China will soon overtake Japan as the world’s second largest economy. The nation trades more with North Korea than any other nation, is the world’s largest consumer and producer of coal, and has invested an estimated $1.6 trillion in American bonds. Hoping to engage China on this broad range of issues, President Obama met with his counterpart Chairman Hu Jintau on Monday to foster a mutually beneficial relationship for the 21^st century through global security, the environment and the economy.

Although former presidents have sought cooperation with the Chinese, Obama’s approach to China differs markedly from his predecessors. China’s record on human rights, such as religious suppression in Tibet and its restrictions on the Internet and freedom of speech were a major focus of the Bush administration, which also sought strong action against North Korea from China. Barry Eichengreen, professor of economics at UC Berkeley believes Obama’s equal partnership tone is a departure from that lecturing attitude.

“Obama’s trip is in large part a getting to know you trip that’s very much needed,” said Eichngreen, a member of UC Berkeley’s Center for Chinese Studies. “Back in the Bush years they would lecture the Chinese on what to do. The Chinese just lectured us this week about putting our budgetary house in order, a subtle way of saying ‘don’t lecture us- we can lecture you on plenty of things as well.’”

The global recession highlights deepening economic ties such as America’s investment in Chinese manufacturing and China’s investment in American currency. The dollar has historically been a dependable long-term investment for other countries, but its value has dropped by 12 percent since March. This is concerning for China as an estimated 70 percent of the nation’s foreign currency bonds are held in US currency.

Along with trying to promote the image that relations between the United States and China are “at an all-time high,” Obama is trying to convince Chinese officials that the US Congress can improve the world economy.

“We have to worry about their financial happiness, if you will, since they’re very big creditors, but it’s really a position of co-dependence in a lot of respects,” said Eichengreen. “Their investment isn’t leverage by any means, that’s a reality. They want to be responsible global citizens since the international security and economic system has really worked to their advantage the past few decades.”

One of the major topics discussed behind closed doors in the summit was the prospect of cutting carbon emissions, which will be discussed against at next month’s Copenhagen climate conference. Much of China’s growing economy is dependent on coal power plants so China’s support is crucial for success, Obama told a crowd of reporters in the joint statement with Hu on Monday.

“We are creating a joint clean energy research center, and have achieved agreements on energy efficiency, renewable energy, cleaner uses of coal, electric vehicles, and shale gas,” said Obama.

Nuclear non-proliferation efforts were also discussed, and while China has in the past debated the effectiveness of sanctions, Hu said cooperation with America on this issue was “essential for the peace and stability of mankind.”

Yet human rights were the elephant in the room and on the mind of many Western activists during the summit.  As Obama arrived in South Korea Wednesday, the international advocacy group Human Rights Watch released a statement calling for Obama to press China to shelter North Korean refugees instead of arresting and repatriating them. While trying to keep his summit’s tone of respecting Chinese sovereignty, Obama asserted that Chinese men and women had “certain bedrock rights.”

“We do not believe these principles are unique to America, but rather they are universal rights and that they should be available to all peoples, to all ethnic and religious minorities,” Obama said in a statement. “And our two countries agreed to continue to move this discussion forward in a human rights dialogue that is scheduled for early next year.”

This respectfully assertive tone about improving diplomatic relations has been carried by Obama to visited 20 countries this year, more than any other president in a single year. Yet few trips have had as much diplomatic posturing ahead of the visit.

While the summit had been planned for months, many were surprised by Obama’s decision not to meet with the exiled Dalai Lama before going to Beijing. The fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner has been visiting Washington, D.C., since 1991 and Obama’s  is the first time a sitting president refused him an audience.

Yet Obama promised to visit the spiritual leader after the summit and in March the State Department reasserted that Tibetan rights and religious freedom remain an American priority and would benefit China’s domestically and internationally. The International Campaign on Tibet is confident Obama will continue to press for Chinese human rights, said Mary Beth Markey, the advocacy group’s vice president for international advocacy.

“I think there are a lot of things at stake that the president has to handle at once: we are fighting two wars, we have tremendous international pressure as a world leader, we have to back international policy with a financial security portfolio,” said Markey. “You don’t do any of those things at the expense of the other.”

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