Washington readies fror Hu visit

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama plans an intimate dinner with Hu Jintao when the Chinese president visits Washington, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said Friday.

Hu is scheduled to be in Washington from Tuesday through Thursday next week, Donilon said. On Tuesday night, Obama will host a dinner with Hu and two advisers plus Donilon and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The president is also putting on a state dinner for the Chinese president Wednesday night.

Donilon said the U.S. relationship with Japan, South Korea and some of the rising states in East Asia is stronger since Obama became president. But he said the U.S.-China relationship remains critical to the region.

"Those nations absolutely count on the United States to engage in a productive, positive relationship with China, to manage that relationship with China, because that's obviously a very important part of the stability and security in the region," Donilon said.