China, U.S. eager to put a happy face on relations

Reporting from Beijing —

The rhetoric in advance of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington that begins Tuesday sounds like an endless loop of the Communist Party's favorite buzzwords: Stability. Harmony. Cooperation.

It speaks to the image that Beijing wants to project to Americans — that of a benign giant whose rise will only benefit its neighbors and trading partners. But it's also a matter of self-interest. Selling that image abroad is key to ensuring that China can keep its economy booming at a time when its growth is alarming large parts of the world.

The White House is answering smiles with smiles: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke all made major speeches last week on the importance of U.S.-Chinese cooperation while Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was doing much the same in Beijing.

"You can't find another instance where you have all these different Cabinet-level officials giving speeches before a leader arrives in country," said Kenneth Lieberthal of the Washington-based Brookings Institution.

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