BEIJING: When President Barack Obama arrives in Shanghai for a four-day China visit, he will be accorded all the normal pomp and circumstance: He'll mingle with top leaders and ordinary people, local media will be filled with stories, and speeches will be rife with words like "vision" and "partnership."But the greeting won't be as warm as those he has received in other parts of the world, where he frequently has been seen as a transformative figure.
That is because Mr. Obama -- who arrives Nov. 15 during an eight-day tour of the region -- will be largely continuing previous administrations' policies on China. He will also face new friction over long-term problems, and he and his hosts will have to contend with a range of global issues that have overtaken the summit agenda.
Mr. Obama follows an administration that is widely credited with success here. The Bush team -- building on progress made during the Clinton administration -- deepened trade, expanded exchanges and resolved conflicts peacefully. "Little Bush," as the Chinese call the 43rd U.S. president, was widely liked.
"China was about the only thing [the Bush administration] did in international affairs that was a true success story," says David Shambaugh, a professor of international relations at George Washington University. "So Obama comes in and he inherits a very solid working relationship."
Since taking office, however, the Obama administration has limited some Chinese imports to the U.S., leading to what appears to be tit-for-tat responses from Beijing. China is especially sensitive to trade spats because it relies on exports for much of its economic growth.
That has dented Mr. Obama's popularity here, as has the view that Mr. Obama has failed to do enough to overhaul the U.S. financial system -- a concern for China because it is the largest holder of U.S. government debt.
A decade ago, most issues discussed at China-U.S. summits were limited to three issues: human rights, nuclear nonproliferation and trade. Now, the list of topics has grown to include almost every problem facing the world, from clean energy and the war in Afghanistan to African development and fixing the world economy -- all of which are expected to have a place in talks between Mr. Obama and his Chinese counterpart, President Hu Jintao.
"For the first time in the history of our relationship, global issues are at the top of the agenda," says Kenneth Lieberthal, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington who was a special assistant on Asian affairs to former President Bill Clinton. "This is new territory for us."
It is a change that analysts on both sides see as potentially problematic. Chinese officials and analysts note that the U.S. still has an arms and high-tech embargo on China -- hardly something one does with a true partner, they say. "Obama wants us to become strategic partners or friends but we aren't either of those," says Yan Xuetong, a professor of international relations at Tsinghua University. "We are business partners who share material interests rather than common values."
Mr. Shambaugh of George Washington University says the recent push to make China a global partner may be part of a 30-year pattern of unrealistic expectations followed by disappointment. "We are hoping for too much out of China," Mr. Shambaugh says. "We have very different political systems and value systems."
That is reflected in the fact that although relations are arguably better than ever, most of the issues on the table are also as intractable as ever.
The U.S., for example, is likely to at least hint that China should revalue upward its currency, the yuan. China is likely to politely decline. Both sides will agree that nuclear weapons shouldn't spread, but are unlikely to agree on concrete measures to deal with North Korea, Iran or Pakistan. And as for a climate deal, both will want to wait for next month's summit in Copenhagen before committing to anything.
All of this will make Mr. Obama's trip less than epochal. Shi Yinhong, a professor at People's University in Beijing and longtime observer of U.S.-China ties, adds another factor is at work too: size. China, like the U.S., is a continent-sized country that is relatively insular.
"China is different," Mr. Shi says. "Foreigners rarely make a big impact here."
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