Protesters greet Hu Jintao at White House

Protesters representing the Falun Gong meditation group, Taiwan and Tibet greeted Chinese President Hu Jintao on his first visit to the White House.

One woman from the Falun Gong group heckled Hu as he addressed the press on the South Lawn of the White House.

According to reports, little progress was made on China's record US$202 billion trade deficit when Hu met with President George W. Bush. Many in the U.S. think China should do more to bring up the value of the yuan, the Chinese currency, and to control software piracy.

There are many analysts, however, who believe that any realistic rise in the yuan will have little effect on the trade deficit. Some see the situation more as one in which China has more goods that the U.S. needs, than vice a versa. One area that looks promising from the U.S. perspective is the growing appetite for car ownership in China.

Hu and Bush also discussed Beijing's role as mediator in the nuclear standoff between North Korea and the United States. Pyongyang recently has refused to join six-way talks on its nuclear program.


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