Obama stresses economic roles with China's expected new leader

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama welcomed China's presumptive next leader at the White House Tuesday but also set a firm tone for future relations between the two world powers.

The meeting with Obama highlighted a day of top-level Washington diplomacy for Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who also met with Vice President Joe Biden and spoke at the State Department.

On Wednesday, Xi will meet with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill and deliver a major policy address at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as he continues his five-day visit.

At the Oval Office meeting Tuesday, Obama said that with China's meteoric rise as an economic powerhouse came a responsibility to ensure balanced trade flows, referring to China's trade surpluses.

The president also raised the delicate issue of human rights as a critical area of concern for the United States.      Read Full