China warns US to keep off Tibet and Taiwan

Washington, Jan 21 (ANI): Chinese President Hu Jintao has warned the US to stay off issues relating to Tibet and Taiwan to prevent bilateral relations from deteriorating further.

Jintao also assured that China would not engage in an arms race with the United States.

However, Hu said that issues of essential national interest, Tibet and Taiwan, should be managed with care.

"Taiwan and Tibet-related issues concern Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity, and they represent China's core interests. They touch upon the national sentiments of 1.3 billion Chinese.We hope the U.S. side will honour its commitments and work with us to preserve the hard-won progress of our relations. Otherwise, our relations will suffer constant trouble or even tension," the Washington Post quoted Hu, as saying.

Hu further claimed that both the countries might have suffered troubling years in the recent past, but his work with Obama on the global economic crisis, Iran, North Korea and climate change are examples that two countries have more reasons that bind them together rather than dividing them.

Speaking on the Tibet issue, President Barack Obama said China's human rights record would remain a source of tension between both countries until it improves.

Hu called for deeper engagement with the United States to solve a number of issues.

"It is only normal that we have some disagreements and frictions. But the two sides should manage them with a sense of responsibility to history and to the future," Hu said. (ANI)