Americans see China as economic threat

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- As U.S. President Barack Obama traveled in China a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey indicated most Americans see the Communist country as an economic threat.

The findings released Monday found 71 percent of Americans consider China an economic threat to the United States, while two-thirds of the respondents said China is a source of unfair competition for U.S. companies, CNN reported.

The survey found 51 percent of Americans consider China a military threat, with 47 percent disagreeing. The report said the 4-point margin was within the poll's 4.5 percent sampling error.

Obama met with Chinese President Hu Jintao behind closed doors Tuesday in Beijing.

Later addressing a joint news conference, Hu said any national differences between the two countries were normal, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"We have both agreed to conduct dialogues and exchanges on issues including human rights and religion, in the spirit of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, so as to boost understanding, mitigate differences and broaden consensus," Hu said.

Speaking Monday to students in Shanghai, Obama said the United States does not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation but he noted there are core principles that all people must share, including equal rights for everyone, a government that reflects the will of the people, open commerce, free access to information, and the rule of law, CNN reported.