All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

After 30 years of a formal relationship between the U.S. and Chinese governments, their bilateral commitment to global issues is more important than ever, Jon Huntsman, U.S. Ambassador to China, said during a press briefing in Beijing Tuesday. The United States and China, he said, are the only two countries that together can solve issues relating to energy, climate change, regional security or the global economy.

"I would say today like never before we are in a position where we should be able to coordinate on many of these key issues in an unprecedented way," he said.

President Obama on Tuesday met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in what Huntsman called "an all-time high in terms of the bilateral atmosphere."

In spite of that positive assessment, Huntsman cautioned that the United States -- and he personally -- still have quite a bit to learn about China.

"Don't mistake me for being an expert, because I've been here for three months," Huntsman said. "And I've come to the conclusion that 'China expert' is kind of an oxymoron. And those who consider themselves to be China experts are kind of morons. So you take what you can, you learn what you can, and you begin to pull all the pieces together, and still it kind of remains sometimes a somewhat confused environment."

More on President Obama's trip to China:

Photo Essay: Obama in China
Obama Stresses Cooperation With Hu, China
At Shanghai Forum, Obama Stresses Freedoms
Transcript: Obama's Town Hall in China
President Obama, Can We Twitter?
U.S., China Fuel Each Other's Bad Habits
In China, Obama Meets America's Lender

Following President Obama's meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, the White House released a joint statement on the relationship between the two countries, "bilateral strategic trust," economic cooperation, regional and global challenges and climate change. Read it below.

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President Obama still believes that the Sudanese government is responsible for genocide, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today, telling reporters that a U.S. policy shift toward working with the Khartoum government does not reflect a change in that belief.

After CBS News White House chief correspondent Chip Reid suggested that the United States will now be "working more closely with somebody the president believes committed genocide," Gibbs said that "the president still believes that."

"But what we're trying to do is seek a comprehensive solution to this problem that, again, addresses both the humanitarian crisis that has happened and is ongoing in Darfur, as well as the comprehensive peace between the North and the South," Gibbs said at his daily press briefing.

Reid pressed Gibbs on how the administration justifies working more closely with a leader, in Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Court, and whose nation is on the state sponsor of terrorism list.

"Well, I'd take a bit of an issue with your characterization of this," Gibbs said. "There are hefty sanctions in place against Sudan. The president in his statement today mentioned that."

"Our policy includes pressure on the Sudanese government and incentives," the press secretary continued. "And if the government doesn't act in a way that helps bring about this comprehensive strategy, sanctions can be ratcheted up, pressure can be added. If they do take steps to address components of this, there are incentives."

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With the world at a moment with "great promise but also with great peril," the mission of the Clinton Global Initiative is more critical than ever, President Obama said Tuesday at the opening of the organization's annual meeting in New York City.

"We need a new spirit of global partnership," the president said. "That is the spirit that guides this organization. I hope that is the spirit that guides my administration."

Founded by former President Bill Clinton in 2005, the organization focuses on addressing major global issues like building economic empowerment and citizen service, health and education, and energy and climate change.

Mr. Obama said today it was "no exaggeration" that the work of the organization could "save the lives of millions." And it proved, he said, that "you don't have to hold a public office to be a public servant."

He learned that lesson, he said, from watching his mother champion women's welfare in Indonesia as well as from working as a community organizer in Chicago.

"Whether you live in the foothills of Java or the skyscrapers of Manhattan, we all share common principles," he said.

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Though progress toward a mideast peace agreement may be more elusive than getting a health care plan through Congress, President Obama sees "movement in the right direction."

"If all sides are willing to move off the rut that we're currently in, then I think there is an extraordinary opportunity to make real progress," said Mr. Obama.

In an Oval Office photo-op at the end of a meeting with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, Mr. Obama said he hopes for movement by the Israelis, the Palestinians and other Arab states.

"Everybody is going to have to take steps, everybody is going to have to take some risks," said Mr. Obama. He said an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is going to require a lot of hard work, but he said the U.S. "is committed to being a partner in this process."

He said his administration will devote "time, energy and resources" to bring about a mideast peace deal.

Mr. Obama views Egypt's Mubarak as in important participant in the process.

Speaking in Arabic, Mubarak said the Palestinians are the "pivotal issue" in the Middle East. That problem has defied resolution for 60 years, he said, and if it's not resolved now, it will trigger more mideast violence. Mubarak said he supports U.S. efforts to find a solution.

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President Barack Obama joined Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in declaring "deepened cooperation" in preparing for the resurgence of swine flu today.

In a statement released by the White House, the North American leaders said that they will "work together to ensure that we have effective strategies, grounded in the best available science" to address the H1N1 pandemic.

Mr. Obama, Calderon, and Harper met in Guadalajara, Mexico Monday to discuss issues facing their respective countries, including economic recovery and climate change in addition to the possible spread of swine flu in the fall.

The full statement is below:

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When President Obama announced today a new $20 billion commitment from the G8 countries for alleviating hunger in Africa, he emphasized that the money would help small farmers become more self-sufficient.

He emphasized this point with a personal story about his father's travels from Kenya to the United States.

"When my father traveled to the United States from Kenya to study, at that time the per capita income and Gross Domestic Product of Kenya was higher than South Korea's," Mr. Obama said. "Today obviously South Korea is a highly developed and relatively wealthy country, and Kenya is still struggling with deep poverty in much of the country. And the question I asked in the meeting was, why is that?"

South Korea, he said, has created transparent and accountable institutions that promote economic progress -- and, he said, there is no reason countries in Africa cannot do the same. Now that the G8 summit in Italy has concluded, he will travel to Ghana to underscore that point.

"Part of the reason that we're traveling to Ghana is because you've got there a functioning democracy, a president who's serious about reducing corruption, and you've seen significant economic growth," Mr. Obama said during a press conference in L'Aquila, Italy.

Mr. Obama's trip to Ghana is a source of pride for the nation, university students and leaders told the Hotsheet today, and should be a wake up call for the rest of Africa -- and the rest of the world -- about the changing nature of international relations and foreign aid.

Ghana's President John Atta Mills smoothly assumed power this year after winning a run-off election in January with just slightly over 50 percent of the vote. Ghana's strong democracy has facilitated the country's economic progress, Patrick Awuah, president of Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana, said in an phone interview.

"With the emergence of democratic government in Ghana, we have seen the opening of markets so that everyone can participate in the free market," Awuah said. "The politics of this country are such that leaders spend more time than they used to thinking about the public good."

If leaders in Africa are to continue improving their economic standing with the public interest in mind, he said, they should embrace Mr. Obama's message that foreign aid should be distributed in ways that will help countries become more self-sustainable.

"The idea of extending a helping hand rather than a hand out is a good one," he said. "It's not just a change that needs to happen in the United States, it's also a change that needs to happen in Africa -- for African governments not to be holding out their hand in a sort of demeaning posture from the perspective of their citizens."

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Facing a significant "backlog of problems" on the U.S.-Russian agenda, Presidents Obama and Medvedev were determined that their summit produce some worthwhile agreements.

"We resolved to reset U.S.-Russian relations, so that we can cooperate more effectively in areas of common interest," said Mr. Obama as he and Medvedev formally announced the deals their talks were designed to finalize:

** A commitment to negotiate by year’s end a further reduction in the numbers of nuclear warheads in the U.S. and Russian arsenals to between 1,500 and 1,675. The same deal would also limit the number of delivery vehicles to between 500 and 1,100.

** A joint statement to pursue further cooperation in efforts to stem the proliferation of ballistic missiles, which can be used as strategic delivery vehicles for nuclear weapons.

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President Obama today met with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, who told Mr. Obama he is "an idol" in her country. In a bit of evidence supporting that assertion, members of the Chilean press asked the president for a group photo, a request the president granted. (That picture is at left.)

The event was not simply a love fest: Asked by a reporter if he wanted to apologize for CIA involvement in Chilean elections, Mr. Obama did not do so. (More on the CIA's ties to Chile here.)

"I'm interesting in going forward, not looking backward," the president said. "I think that the United States has been an enormous force for good in the world."

"I think there have been times where we've made mistakes, but I think that what is important is looking at what our policies are today and what my administration intends to do in cooperating with the region," added Mr. Obama.

At his joint appearance with Bachelet, which followed a private meeting, the president also announced a partnership with Chile on clean energy and science.

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The House of Representatives on Friday passed a resolution that expresses "support for all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and rule of law."

The resolution also "condemns the ongoing violence against demonstrators by the Government of Iran and pro-government militias, as well as the ongoing government suppression of independent electronic communication through interference with the Internet and cellphones." It also "affirms the universality of individual rights and the importance of democratic and fair elections."

Co-sponsored by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the resolution passed by a vote of 405 to 1. Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas libertarian, cast the sole opposing vote. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has introduced a similar resolution in the Senate.

The resolutions come on the same day Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei effectively ruled out the possibility of holding a new presidential election, even though countless Iranian citizens have taken to the streets in protest of the June 12 election. Protesters have held massive street rallies for days, contending the election was rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the detriment of opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi. Khamenei warned of a crackdown if protests continue.

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