China's development will not threaten anyone, says Hu

US/CHINA: Chinese president Hu Jintao ended a four-day visit to the United States with a speech at Yale University yesterday that sought to allay fears about the international impact of China's rise.

Addressing 600 students and staff, Mr Hu said Americans had no reason to fear China's growing economic and military power.

"China's development will not compromise the interests of anyone, nor will China's development threaten anyone," he said.

Mr Hu said that, despite China's remarkable levels of economic growth, it remained a poor country and would take 15 years to achieve moderate prosperity.

"Although China has become, comparatively speaking, stronger, it has a population of 1.3 billion. Any figure divided by 1.3 billion will necessarily become a smaller one," he said.

More than 1,000 protesters demonstrated nearby as the Chinese president told his audience there had been political progress in recent years but stressed the need to maintain social harmony amid rapid economic change.

"I believe that the development of the political infrastructure must be compatible with the economic foundation," he said.

Despite the protests, things went smoothly for Mr Hu, in contrast to Thursday's White House visit, when his speech was interrupted by a journalist from a Falun Gong newspaper. He suffered further indignity when a White House announcer referred to China as the Republic of China, the formal name of Taiwan.

Mr Hu failed to promise specific steps to reduce China's $202 billion (€164 billion) trade surplus with the US, and gave little comfort to US officials hoping for a revaluation of the Chinese currency.

Democratic national committee spokeswoman Karen Finney condemned president George Bush's failure to win concrete concessions from the Chinese president.

"Having stood idly by as our trade deficit with China has hit record levels . . . President Bush and his administration have undermined the economic security of our nation and our working families."

Senate finance committee chairman Charles Grassley gave a cautious welcome to Mr Hu's remarks. "Good words need to be followed by concrete action."