By Chris Buckley and Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pressed Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday to let the value of China's currency rise and delivered a firmer message on U.S. concerns over Beijing's human rights record.
Amid the pomp of a state visit, both leaders spoke glowingly about cooperation but did not make any breakthroughs -- or even significant progress -- on a range of disputes over trade and security that have strained relations.
Hu gave up little aside from $45 billion (28 billion pounds) in export deals that seemed aimed at reducing anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States and allowing Obama to tout job creation as U.S. unemployment remains stubbornly above 9 percent.
"We've shown that the United States and China, when we cooperate, can receive substantial benefits," Obama said with Hu at his side at a White House news conference.
Obama wasted little time before zeroing in one of the most sensitive disputes between the two countries, telling Hu bluntly that China's yuan remains undervalued. Beijing's critics say its currency practices hurt the competitiveness of U.S. business.
"There needs to be further adjustment in the exchange rate," Obama said.
Hu listened to Obama's complaints about the yuan during the news conference but pointedly did not comment, giving no clues about China's intentions on the hot-button issue.
MORE ASSERTIVE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Obama took a more assertive stance on human rights than he did during his 2009 visit to Beijing, when critics at home said he was too deferential to his hosts. Still, he was measured in his words to avoid antagonizing China's communist leadership.
"I repeated to President Hu we have some core views as Americans about the universality of certain rights -- freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly -- that we think are very important and that transcend cultures," Obama said.
"I have been very candid with President Hu about these issues," he added before acknowledging there might be areas where the two sides disagree.
Obama also urged Chinese dialogue with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader widely admired internationally but regarded by Beijing as the leader of an illegitimate separatist cause.
Hu insisted China had made "enormous progress" on human rights but acknowledged "a lot still needs to be done," although he gave no specifics.
Obama said he and Hu "agreed that North Korea must avoid further provocations" and that international sanctions on Iran must be fully enforced. U.S. officials have sometimes chided Beijing for not doing enough against Tehran and Pyongyang.
Welcoming Hu to the White House, Obama hailed the event as a chance to demonstrate that the world's two biggest economic powers "have an enormous stake in each other's success."
"Even as our nations compete in some areas, we can cooperate in others," Obama said at the choreographed welcoming ceremony. "Let us seize these possibilities together."
Speaking later to a group of U.S. and Chinese business leaders, Obama pressed for a level playing field with China on trade, while Hu made the same appeal for Chinese companies operating in the United States.
The two countries used the summit to unveil a series of deals, including China's purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft. U.S. officials said the $45 billion in deals would support an estimated 235,000 American jobs.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Ross Colvin, Caren Bohan in Washington, Ben Blanchard and Sui-Lee Wee in Beijing; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
