CNN news 2011-01-21 加文本

cnn news 2011-01-21

CARL AZUZ, cnn STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: A former dictator shows back up in his home country 25 years after he was forced out of power. What happened? We have the answer in today's edition of cnn Student News!

First Up: Pakistan Quake

AZUZ: First up, an early-morning earthquake hits Pakistan. This happened around 1:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday in a remote area in southwestern Pakistan. Officials said the quake had an initial magnitude of 7.2. That would mean it was a "major" quake. There were reports that it lasted 20 or 30 seconds. One scientist said it's not uncommon for earthquakes to hit this region.

China & U.S. Relationship

AZUZ: Well, the leaders of the world's two largest economies get together in Washington, D.C. We're talking about President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao. The Chinese leader is in the U.S. for a visit. The two presidents are scheduled to sit down today to talk about some of the issues that are important to both nations.

President Hu landed in Washington yesterday. In addition to President Obama, the Chinese leader is scheduled to sit down with leaders in Congress and business executives. The issue of trade is likely to come up at all of those meetings. The U.S. and Chinese economies are connected in a lot of ways, and each country has had some complaints about the other one's policies. Jill Dougherty has more for us on the connections between the U.S. and China and the current status of the relationship between these two world powers.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JILL DOUGHERTY, cnn FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Two nations oceans apart, locked in a complex relationship that will help chart the 21st century.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Today, our relationship has gone global. We debate and discuss nearly every major international issue.

DOUGHERTY: Friends or rivals? A former deputy secretary of state says for the U.S., China is both.

RICHARD ARMITAGE, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: They are a factor of life as the second largest economy in the world, by every measure, whether it's political, social, economic, and for that matter security. And furthermore, they have very key interests of their own in areas that are extraordinarily important to us.

DOUGHERTY: Spin the globe and you see China's growing competition with the U.S. for access and influence. From Africa, where China craves oil and other resources, to Latin America, in search of commodities and alternatives to its heavy investment in the U.S. For many Americans, China, for years, has meant bargains. But increasingly, China means jobs for Americans at home.

U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY TIMOTHY GEITHNER: Our exports to China are growing at twice the rate of growth of our exports to the rest of the world. These exports support hundreds of thousands of jobs across the nation in all sectors.

U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES: We welcome a China that plays a constructive role on the world stage.

DOUGHERTY: Yet China's burgeoning military power is stoking concern in Asia and the U.S.

GATES: But questions about its intentions and opaque military modernization program have been a source of concern to its neighbors.

DOUGHERTY: Washington says with power comes responsibility. For now, China looks outward, mostly to benefit itself

ARMITAGE: China's outreach, I believe, in the main is based on what they perceive is their economic and political interest. However, it is the case that this compels them on occasion to deal with what we consider pariah regimes.

DOUGHERTY: The U.S. really needs China's help in pressing Iran and North Korea on their nuclear programs. But on every world issue, from terrorism to climate change to piracy on the high seas, Washington also looks to Beijing.

CLINTON: Embracing the obligations that come with being a 21st century power will help to realize a future that will give the Chinese people even more, in fact, unimagined opportunities. But that means accepting a share of the burden of solving common problems,

DOUGHERTY: And that, Clinton argues, includes respecting human rights, releasing political prisoners and protecting ethnic minorities in Tibet.