國家形象宣傳片先於主席抵美

自17日開始，中國國家宣傳片人物篇開始在美國紐約時報廣場的大屏幕開始循環播放，爲胡錦濤主席訪美先行造勢。該宣傳片在短短60秒鐘內，展示了包括姚明、成龍、楊利偉在內的數十位各行各業傑出華人，以“智慧、美麗、勇敢、才能、財富”等詮釋中國人形象。胡錦濤主席此次訪美是在中美重新打開交往大門40週年之際和21世紀第二個十年伊始進行的一次重要訪問，意義重大。2009年，美國總統奧巴馬訪華時，兩國發表聯合聲明，描繪了雙邊、地區以及全球關係的整體前景，可謂卓有成效。但是在2010年，中美關係因爲對臺軍售、貿易逆差以及人民幣升值等問題日趨緊張。此次胡主席訪美，雙方應該從兩國人民根本利益出發，從世界和平與發展大局出發，排除干擾，應對挑戰，相向而行，推動兩國關係不斷向前發展。

Amid the usual hustle and bustle of Times Square, visitors to New York should expect to see an unusual figure this week: Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, stretched to many times his 2.29 metres, on the giant screen.

Yao, Jackie Chan and astronaut Yang Liwei feature in an ad campaign commissioned by Beijing to boost its soft power, according to Chinese media. They are the advance party for President Hu Jintao, who arrives in the US for a state visit today following a year of unusually fraught relations. Trade, territorial and human rights issues have caused much tension; rows over Google and arms sales to Taiwan have added to the problems. "When there is a summit, both sides do a lot of public relations work. I think China will do more [this time]," said Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University, Beijing. "Our leaders need it because the diplomatic performance last year was quite bad. They want to reassure the American public."

Last year was – according to David Shambaugh, a veteran watcher of bilateral relations – the most strained for a decade. That was all the more striking because some thought President Barack Obama's visit to Beijing in 2009 was unexpectedly productive. The joint statement they produced was "a visionary road map for building the relationship on bilateral, regional, and global levels … Unfortunately, much of [it] was stillborn", Shambaugh wrote this week. The two sides have been frank in acknowledging their differences.

"When the relationship is strained we need to bear in mind the larger picture and not allow any individual issue to disrupt our overall co-operation," vice foreign minister Cui Tiankai said on Friday.

"Both sides feel strongly it's time to stabilize relations and reduce tensions and deal with the situation on the peninsula," said Shi. "I think compared with last year's situation, it will be quite easy to achieve some sort of success."

While they are highly unlikely to agree on how to handle North Korea – Beijing wants a return to the six-party talks but Washington says Pyongyang must not be rewarded for bad behavior – they may find a way to imply progress.

On trade, Beijing has allowed its currency, the renminbi, to appreciate over the last year – albeit not at anything like the rate many in the US want – and it is expected to rise further this year.

While there is room for co-operation as well as competition on trade and nonproliferation efforts, human rights and territorial disagreements are largely intractable, suggested Professor Shen Dingli, director of the Centre for American Studies at Fudan University.

This year, it is sending out friendlier signals – Shen points out it did not accept its ally Iran's invitation to visit its nuclear facilities.