China media: US summit

Chinese media feel President Xi Jinping's US visit will offer a chance to build a new kind of relationship

Media expect the two-day summit between the Chinese and US presidents to set rules for a "new great powers relationship".

Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold informal talks with US President Barack Obama in California from 1600 US time on Friday (0700 Beijing time on Saturday), followed by a private dinner on Friday evening and private discussions on Saturday morning.

Xinhua news agency, People's Daily and many other state media say Sino-US relations are at a "new historical starting point" and the meeting will be an "opportunity to outline a blueprint for building a new great powers relationship" that is not based on confrontation between an established power and a rising power.

A bilingual Global Times editorial says China's growing power is causing disquiet and says the two countries must build trust in bilateral relations that are "far from stable".

"The question of whether the two countries will step out of the box and create a new era of peaceful competition instead of tragic confrontation has become a major test for both countries and even the rest of the world," the editorial comments.

Beijing-backed Hong Kong newspapers Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao both say the US must respect China's territorial interests and accuse its re-engagement with Asia-Pacific of emboldening China's neighbours in territorial disputes.

On a warier note, Hong Kong nationalist tabloid Oriental Daily News, and its sister newspaper, The Sun, say Mr Xi will be cautious as China is well aware of a looming threat from a "tiger".

They speculate that the US deliberately leaked informal arrangements for the meeting, including walks around the estate and private breakfast meetings, as "psychological warfare" to fathom Mr Xi's bottom line and ideology.

Sina and other mainland news portals have also highlighted how the US media and academics are calling Michelle Obama's decision to stay in Washington DC to help her daughter study instead of meeting Xi Jinping's wife, Peng Liyuan, a "diplomatic own goal".

Hong Kong's Ming Pao notes that the US released a "signal of friendship" by extending China's immunity from sanctions against Iran by six months in exchange for China reducing purchases of Iranian oil.

The newspaper says Beijing reciprocated by suddenly releasing Hu Zhicheng, a mainland-born Chinese-American engineer and entrepreneur who was held in custody in China over alleged commercial theft charges which were later dropped due to a lack of evidence. Mr Hu, however, was forced to remain in the country for 17 months.

Commenting on Beijing's "show of goodwill" with the release of Mr Hu, the South China Morning Post's commentator Alex Lo says Beijing's "inhumane practices are not worthy of an emerging great power" and a sober warning to patriotic returnees.

Miners in Ghana

In other news, hundreds of residents yesterday petitioned the county government of Shanglin, Guangxi, to urge the central government to help relatives in Ghana who have been reportedly robbed and attacked by locals in a series of crackdowns on illegal gold mining, says The Beijing News.

Ming Pao says the protesters, who were mostly women and children, accused the Chinese embassy in Ghana of inaction. Clashes broke out when police tried to grab some of the protesters' banners and some people were allegedly beaten up by police, it adds.

Thousands of residents will continue their protest outside the regional government in Nanning, today, South China Morning Post reports.

Embassy officials say they have received no reports of locals looting or burning Chinese property or attacking Chinese citizens, but acknowledge that illegal gold mining has angered many locals.

However, unconfirmed reports on the internet say at least five Chinese citizens have been killed and many wounded, but China and Ghana have yet to officially announce the details, Hong Kong's Oriental Daily News reports.

Su Zhenyu, secretary general of the Chinese Mining Association in Ghana, also confirms to South China Morning Post that he had received calls about at least five Chinese nationals being shot dead in Ghana, as well as many Chinese being robbed, beaten and even shot on the way to the airport.

Beijing's Global Times defends the Chinese embassy over complaints of inaction and says the Chinese must respect local laws.

Commentaries in Beijing Times and The Beijing News also stress that Chinese must avoid getting "nationalistic" over conflicts with foreigners and should abide by the laws of other countries and not resort to bribery to make money or a "triad" approach to ensure their own safety.

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