http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/world/asia/obama-apec-china-hong-kong.html 2014-11-10 17:48:16 Obama, in Beijing, Calls for Restraint in Handling Hong Kong Protests The president’s remarks at an economic summit meeting left no doubt that he did not want the protests to disrupt a wide-ranging American agenda with China. === BEIJING — Mr. Obama’s carefully calibrated remarks were his first on the Hong Kong protests since arriving in Beijing earlier in the day. “Obviously, the situation between China and Hong Kong is historically complicated and is in the process of transition,” Mr. Obama said. “Our primary message has been to make sure violence is avoided,” the president said, adding, “We don’t expect China to follow an American model in every instance. But we’re going to continue to have concerns about human rights.” Mr. Obama’s comments came during a meeting with Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia at an economic summit meeting in Beijing. The remarks left no doubt that the president did not want the protests in Hong Kong to disrupt a wide-ranging American agenda with China. The president also put in a pitch for his ambitious trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, meeting with the leaders of other countries involved in the negotiations. Efforts to forge a deal have made progress recently, and the Republican takeover of Congress has buoyed hopes that Mr. Obama might be able to win ratification of a trade treaty more easily. “Today is an opportunity, at the political level, for us to break some remaining logjams,” the president said to reporters at the meeting, held at the American Embassy. Still, there was no evidence, and he made no suggestion, that the talks were close to a breakthrough, as some American officials have done in the past. Mr. Obama noted that he and other leaders would have to build domestic support for a deal, saying that “we also have to make sure all of our people back home understand the benefits for them.” Touching down on Monday morning under skies that were a government-mandated blue — factories were idled and vehicles ordered off the road to minimize smog — Mr. Obama plunged into a hectic schedule that mixed the solemn rituals of a state visit with the deal-making of an economic summit meeting. Mr. Obama’s visit, his second as president, began on a promising note with North Korea’s release on Saturday of two Americans held there. Administration officials did not speculate about whether the release was timed to coincide with the trip, but the North Koreans’ action sent an unmistakably conciliatory message on the eve of talks that are certain to include discussion of the nuclear-armed rogue state. The centerpiece of the visit will be Mr. Obama’s session with President Mr. Obama met on Monday with President Joko Widodo, a plain-spoken populist whose recent election as leader of Indonesia makes a vivid contrast with the authoritarian ambitions of Mr. Xi. Mr. Widodo, like Mr. Obama, was in Beijing for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, a meeting of Pacific Rim leaders. Later in the day, Mr. Obama addressed business executives from the region, saying that “the United States welcomes the rise of a prosperous, peaceful and stable China.” The two countries must work together, he said. Mr. Obama announced a new reciprocal agreement with China that would extend the validity of tourist and business visas from one year to 10 years. The agreement, he said, would make it easier for business people investing in each country and for students to study abroad. The agreement does not apply to visas for journalists, which China has restricted for some foreign news organizations, including The New York Times, after coverage that the authorities viewed as unfavorable. Mr. Obama is expected to raise that issue separately with Chinese officials. The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement does not include China, so Mr. Obama made a strong pitch to the Chinese for a new bilateral investment treaty between the countries. Economists said that deal could be the most significant opening of the Chinese market for American companies since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. American business people view the treaty as an indicator of how serious Mr. Xi is about overhauling the Chinese economy, after a start that many describe as shaky. It would require the Chinese to open dozens of sensitive markets, including some that remained closed to American companies, or required them to have Chinese partners, even after 2001. “Optimism is moderating in the American business community,” said John Frisbie, president of the United States-China Business Council. “The reason for that softening is policy uncertainty. What’s the reform policy direction? We’ve seen little tangible impact so far.” Progress on an investment treaty could ease other sources of friction in the relationship, particularly the systematic hacking of American companies by the Chinese. A joint working group set up to tackle cybercrime abruptly stopped meeting after American prosecutors filed charges against several Chinese military officers accused of hacking. Mr. Obama raised the issue of cybercrime with Mr. Xi at their first leader-to-leader meeting in June 2013 at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif. By all accounts, that conversation did not go well, and the dialogue has gotten testier since then. The two leaders did sign an agreement at that meeting to cut hydrofluorocarbon emissions, and the White House hopes to build on that this week in broader discussions between Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi about The goal would be for China and the United States to announce a common position on new emissions reduction targets before the next round of global climate change talks in Paris in 2015. While it is unlikely that either country will announce specific targets until next March, even a general statement of commitment by the two leaders could galvanize the process. Shortly before One official said Mr. Clapper carried a brief letter to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, certifying that he was the president’s personal emissary and that his sole mission was to obtain the release of the two men. He did not meet with Mr. Kim, dealing with other officials. Mr. Obama said Mr. Clapper did not discuss any other issues with the North Koreans, and he reiterated that the North Korean nuclear program was still a “core problem between us.” Asked if the decision to release the Americans had given Mr. Obama any insight into Mr. Kim’s intentions, Mr. Obama had a one-word answer: “No.”