Jury out on Obama

In his first 100 days in office, President Barrack Obama has pushed China on its currency, calling for quicker appreciation. China has pushed Obama back, demanding that the new president refuse to meet with exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama. Yet it seems that for most Chinese people, the jury is still out on the new American president and it will take more than 100 days to pass judgement. There is plenty of goodwill here for Obama, but strong feelings either way are difficult to find.

More likely, Chinese people will begin to make up their minds when the American president visits here later this year.

One young businessman in Guangzhou at a trade fair this weekend was typical of the comments I hear, as an American, about Obama. He wanted to know if I liked the new president and then said, "He doesn't want war like Bush. That's good, but we still need to know how he will work with China."

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/china-and-its-neighbors/090429/jury-out-obama