U.S. and China open talks to help steady economic ties

The United States and China open a high-level meeting on Monday intended to steady their vast and sometimes tense economic relationship, but North Korea threatened to emerge as a point of diplomatic contention. Any feuding over Chinese exchange rate policies, however, appeared likely to be kept out of the limelight.
China's main official newspaper, the People's Daily, stressed that any change was up to Beijing itself to decide based on national needs, and U.S. officials so far have not said publicly the yuan would be a top agenda item.
The two countries are holding a two-day Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Beijing, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they would cover many of the commercial and foreign policy issues that have sometimes created rifts between the world's biggest and third biggest economies.
But she appeared eager to play down the tensions that unsettled ties in the first months of 2010, when Beijing denounced U.S. criticism of its Internet censorship, Washington's arms sales to Taiwan, and President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled leader.
"We want to take what is a positive relationship and make it more so. It's strong but it can be stronger," Clinton said in excerpts of an interview with Phoenix Television, a Hong Kong-based broadcaster, aired late on Sunday.
She said the issues up for discussion included bilateral economic ties, Iran and also North Korea, which faces international condemnation after South Korea said the North torpedoed its warship, the Cheonan, in late March.
South Korea said on Sunday it would take the case to the United Nations Security Council. Speaking in Tokyo on Friday, Clinton said the international community could not allow the Cheonan's sinking, which killed 46 sailors, to go "unanswered."
China is the sole major backer of North Korea, and has not publicly criticized Pyongyang over the sinking, instead issuing broad calls for restraint. Earlier this month, China hosted the North's leader, Kim Jong-il, on a visit.
Beijing's reluctance to censure its neighbor may become a point of division with Washington.
"We want China to know the seriousness of how we view the situation," said a U.S. official, who spoke on Sunday on condition he not be named. "We want them to take some steps in the international (arena) to underscore ... that."
The U.S.-China talks are also expected to cover Iran, which the United States accuses of pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran denies this.
Clinton on Sunday pressed senior Chinese officials to agree on a list of people and Iranian entities whose assets could be frozen in a fresh U.N. Security Council resolution against Iran.
QUIET DISCUSSION OF YUAN
For now, contention over China's yuan exchange rate policies appears unlikely to break out in public at the talks.
Beijing officials have said they want only "quiet discussion" of U.S. complaints the Chinese currency is held too low in value, giving Chinese manufacturers an unfair advantage.
The Obama administration so far appears willing to go along in the hope a quieter approach will give Beijing more political space to let its currency appreciate.
China's main official newspaper, the People's Daily, on Monday repeated the government's position that a rise in the yuan would not help the U.S. economy anyway.
"Appreciation of renminbi will not solve the imbalance in China-U.S. trade and it will not solve U.S. employment problems," said a commentary in the paper.
The renminbi is another name for the yuan.
"China is advancing reform of the renminbi exchange rate formation mechanism based on its own economic development needs."
The annual U.S. trade deficit with China fell to $226.8 billion in 2009, down from a record $268.0 billion in 2008. But the Obama administration is keen to lift exports, and the deficit remains a point of friction with Beijing.
U.S. officials have sought to concentrate attention on policies they claim may unfairly impede U.S. companies hunting for customers in China.

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House M.D. Seasons 1-6 DVD Boxset


Detailed DVD Info
Category:Drama Mystery
Name:House M.D.
Season:1 2 3 4 5 6
TV Series Release Date:Sep 2004
Aspect Ratio:1.78: 1
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Language:English With Removable Subtitles
Format:Support Both NTSC and PAL
Discs:40 pcs

TV Series Info
Leading Role: Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Jennifer Morrison, Jesse Spencer, Bobbin BergstromDirector: David Shore


Plot Summary
House, also known as House, M.D., is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004.
Dr. House often clashes with his boss, hospital administrator and Dean of Medicine Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), and his diagnostic team, because many of his hypotheses about patients' illnesses are based on subtle or controversial insights. House's only true friend is Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), head of the Department of Oncology. During the first three seasons, House's diagnostic team consists of Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer), Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), and Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps). At the end of the third season, this team disbands. Rejoined by Foreman, House gradually selects three new team members: Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley (Olivia Wilde), Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson), and Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn); the latter was written out of the series toward the end of season five. Chase and Cameron continue to appear in different roles at the hospital until early in season six. Cameron then leaves the show, and Chase returns to the diagnostic team.

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