Hu will visit Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama and make a stop in Chicago during the January 18-21 trip, vice foreign minister Cui Tiankai told reporters.

The visit is seen as a crucial one for Sino-US relations, after a number of disputes over the past year on a range of topics from the yuan to climate change to rare earths, which are used to make high-tech products.

"I don't think this is an issue between China and the United States, neither do I think this should become an issue," Cui said on the question of rare earths -- 17 elements vital to everything from iPods to wind turbines.

"China accounts for one-third of the world's total reserves, but China now undertakes over 90 percent of the total use of rare earths worldwide, so shouldn't there be a fairer sharing of responsibility on this issue?"

Last month, Jon Huntsman, the US ambassador to China, called on the Asian nation not to use rare earths as a "trade weapon" after Japanese industry said Beijing temporarily cut off exports in 2010 in the midst of a diplomatic row.

China has denied any political motivation over rare earths. It has since tightened control over the elements by cutting quotas for overseas shipments and hiking export taxes, insisting this is due to environmental concerns.

"Rare earths involve sustainable use of resources and the issue of environmental protection," Cui said.

"So... it is consistent with the objective needs of world development for China to adopt some measures in this regard, and it is consistent with the need for sustainable development and the protection of natural resources."

In Washington, Hu will meet with Obama and US lawmakers, and deliver a speech, Cui said.

The tense situation on the Korean peninsula and China's yuan exchange rate will be on the agenda, the minister said.

Hu will also be the first Chinese leader to attend a state dinner in the United States since president Jiang Zemin in 1997.

earlier related report
Chinese Huawei wins bid in long-time Ericsson market Norway
Stockholm (AFP) Jan 11, 2011 - Nordic telecoms giant TeliaSonera said Tuesday it had awarded part of a network construction contract in Norway to Huawei, giving the Chinese telecom equipment maker an entry into a market long dominated by Sweden's Ericsson.

The contract, which is to be shared with Ericsson, is to upgrade TeliaSonera's existing second and third generation (2G and 3G) mobile networks in Norway and to extend the reach of its 4G network there, the Swedish-Finnish telecoms company said in a statement.

"Huawei is providing equipment for the southern part of the network and Ericsson for the northern part" of Norway, where only around 20 percent of the population lives, the company said.

The value of the contract was not given.

Following the news, Ericsson saw its share price fall slightly but it inched back up 0.46 percent to 76.35 kronor in midday trade on a Stockholm stock exchange up 1.44 percent.

Huawei, which was founded more than two decades ago, has in recent years experienced booming growth at the expense of the historic majors in the telecom equipment sector -- Ericsson, Nokia Siemens and Alcatel-Lucent.

At the end of 2009, the Chinese company won contracts in Sweden with Norwegian operator Telenor and Sweden's Tele2 for their 4G network roll-outs, completed late last year.

Huawei had previously threatened to unseat Ericsson from 4G contracts with TeliaSonera but had until now only been handed a deal to provide equipment to part of the Oslo network.

TeliaSonera, which is battling Telenor for market leadership in the Nordic region, is at the forefront of the 4G network roll-out, which offers speeds 10 times faster than 3G.

The Swedish-Finnish company's first 4G network, which was also the world's first, was inaugurated at the end of 2009 in Stockholm and Oslo.

TeliaSonera today offers 4G capabilities -- so far limited to mobile internet and not yet available for phones -- in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Denmark.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News