Hu: No China military threat to other countries

Hu's comments were made in a speech to US business leaders and underscored the key message of his current state visit to the US - that China's rise is good for America and the world.

President Barack Obama struck a similiar note after formal talks with the Chinese leader on Wednesday, announcing job-creating business deals with the Asian giant worth $45 billion to US companies.

"We will remain committed to the path of peaceful development," Hu told a US-China Business Council luncheon. "We do not engage in arms races, we are not a military threat to any country. China will never seek to dominate or pursue an expansionist policy." The group, made up of US business leaders whose companies have significant dealings within China, proved a far more receptive audience than the Chinese leader found an earlier meeting on Capitol Hill, where Hu drew fire over China's human rights policies and other practices from some of the harshest US congressional critics.

House Speaker John Boehner said participants at the House meeting with Hu "raised our strong, ongoing concerns with reports of human rights violations in China, including the denial of religious freedom and the use of coercive abortion" as a result of China's one-child policy.

He said House members also addressed a need for China to better protect intellectual property and curtail the aggressive behavior of North Korea.

Hu also met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who on Wednesday called the Chinese leader "a dictator" in an interview, although he later tried to recant the comment.

During the state visit, several Republican lawmakers also have assailed the Chinese government's record on military expansion, financial strategy and weapons sales.

China has unnerved nations in the region by asserting its claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea. US officials have also noted its development of a recently tested Stealth jet fighter and ballistic missiles that appear aimed at projecting its power in the West Pacific - a crucial conduit for world trade; Kazinform cites Arab News.

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