It's nearly impossible to separate China's economic interests from those of the U.S. these days. China currently owns about $2 trillion in foreign currency, mainly U.S. dollars, and in 2008 the U.S. and China had $409.2 billion in trade volume. But just because the two countries have many mutual economic interests, doesn't mean they don't have areas of disagreement.
As China's President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama prepare to meet for the first time tomorrow, several of their economic differences may surface.
Last week the governor of China's central bank called for the formation of a universal currency that would replace reliance on the dollar or other currencies linked to a specific question. President Obama and others in the U.S. government dismissed this proposal for now, but it got much more traction in this current global economy than it probably would have a few years ago.
Similarly, many in the U.S. Congress have their own complaints about China's currency valuation. While in the Senate, Obama himself was quite critical of the value of China's RMB, which he says is artificially low. Now as President it will be interesting to see how his position evolves.
Chances are, these complaints will take a backseat to fluffier diplomatic issues during tomorrow's meeting. I wouldn't be surprised if much of the dialogue amounts to: "China and the U.S. have differences, but we have so many more mutual interests. Let's focus on those."
Of course, even if some of the significant political and economic differences are glossed over tomorrow, they're not going to disappear any time soon.