In China, Obama Pushes for More Freedoms

Read the Full Transcript

• JIM LEHRER:

  President Obama began a three-day visit to China today with a call for cooperation. But he also prodded the communist government to scale back censorship and to tolerate more criticism.

  NewsHour correspondent Kwame Holman has our lead story report.

• KWAME HOLMAN:

  The president arrived in the world's most populace country late on Sunday aiming to build on a growing U.S.-China relationship.

• U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:

  Good to see you again.

• KWAME HOLMAN:

  Big issues dotted his agenda today with Chinese President Hu Jintao, from trade, to climate change, to the economy.

  And, at their first meeting in Beijing, Mr. Obama sought to enlist China's help across the board.

• BARACK OBAMA:

  I think the world recognizes the importance of the U.S.-China relationship, not only for the prosperity and security of our two countries, but also because so many of the world's challenges cannot be solved unless the United States and China work together.

• KWAME HOLMAN:

  But there was another challenge: how to address China's record on human rights. The president broached the topic at a town hall meeting with university students in Shanghai earlier in the day.

• BARACK OBAMA:

  We do not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation, but we also don't believe that the principles that we stand for are unique to our nation.

  These freedoms of expression and worship, of access to information and political participation, we believe are universal rights. They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities, whether they are in the United States, China, or any nation.