Negroponte Asks China to Join US in Pressuring Iran and Sudan

The second-ranking U.S. diplomat and his Chinese counterpart hope to use two days of talks to ease tensions and strengthen ties between the world's strongest power and its fastest-growing upstart.

The United States probably will be pushing hard in this fourth session of the "U.S.-China Senior Dialogue" for Chinese cooperation in pressuring Iran over its nuclear program and in pressing Sudan to end violence in its Darfur region, analysts say. Beijing will be keen to ensure there is no change in U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

The summit planned for Wednesday and Thursday in Washington is headed by Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo. It is one of two high-level forums the countries use to manage a sometimes contentious relationship.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has launched a series of twice-a-year economic talks with top Chinese officials meant to deal with a host of trade tensions. Those include rampant piracy of American copyrighted material in China and U.S. charges that China's undervalued currency hurts the U.S. economy.

The two countries have cooperated recently on efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. But China faces much more criticism than praise in Congress.

On the economic front, various U.S. lawmakers are calling for legislation to toughen the U.S. response to China's currency policies. Beijing also hears frequent U.S. claims that it abuses its citizens' rights, supports regimes Washington considers unsavory in exchange for energy deals, and hides the true nature of its military buildup.

Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank, said the talks to begin Wednesday are part of U.S. attempts to spur China to take a role in global affairs that reflects its position as an economic and military powerhouse.

The United States, he said, is "taking a look at not only what the Chinese say but what they're doing around the world."

China sees the talks as an opportunity to strengthen its relationship with the United States, not necessarily as a venue to resolve differences, said Bonnie Glaser, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The United States, she said, uses the meetings to discuss very specific things: North Korea, Darfur and Iran.

"No one's looking for concrete results, but there is an understanding that you can't have a dialogue and not make progress on the issues," Glaser said.

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