Beijing , China ( CNN ) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao greeted U.S. President Barack Obama in China 's capital on Tuesday , with trade and the thorny issue of North Korea expected to be on their agenda . The U.S. delegation was met by an honor guard at the Great Hall of the People , and Obama shook hands with Hu and other top Chinese officials before the two leaders went behind closed doors . It is their fifth meeting in the past year , and they made no public statements beforehand but are to issue a joint statement after their talks . The United States imports billions of dollars in Chinese products each year , while China is a major purchaser of the U.S. Treasury bonds that finance America 's budget deficit . Facing a global economic recession , Washington and Beijing are in `` a mutual hostage situation , '' former Bush administration China analyst Victor Cha said . `` China needs to purchase these Treasuries in order to maintain a strong dollar . Otherwise , the value of their foreign currency holdings goes down dramatically , '' Cha told CNN . `` We need China in order to finance a lot of the deficit spending we 're doing now . It 's very much intertwined in a way that two countries in the history of international relations have not been intertwined . '' China is also an important player in the diplomatic showdowns over nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea and holds one of five permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council . China is North Korea 's closest ally and has played a key role in the six-party talks aimed at convincing Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear weapons program . A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday found 71 percent of Americans consider China an economic threat to the United States , with two-thirds considering it a source of unfair competition for U.S. companies . The survey also found 51 percent of the U.S. public consider China a military threat , with 47 percent disagreeing . That 4-point margin is within the poll 's 4.5 percent sampling error . But Obama told students at a town hall-style meeting in Shanghai that the two nations do n't have to be at odds with each other . `` Our relationship has not been without disagreement and difficulty , but the notion that we must be adversaries is not predestined , '' Obama said . But he said there are certain core principles that all people must share -- including equal rights for everyone , a government that reflects the will of the people , open commerce , free access to information , and the rule of law . `` We do not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation , but we also do n't believe that the principles that we stand for are unique to our nation , '' he told the gathering . The issue of human rights has often been a sticking point between Beijing and Washington . China regularly cracks down on its religious and ethnic minorities , keeps tight reins on the media and censors the Internet . Obama told the students that he is against censorship and is a believer in the free flow of information , calling it a `` source of strength '' in a democracy , despite the sting that sometimes comes with it . He told the students he welcomes a strong China , saying there are very few global challenges -- specifically referring to climate change -- that ca n't be solved if the United States and China work together . The town hall meeting was shown locally on Shanghai 's Phoenix TV , but it was not broadcast nationally on any of China 's state-run networks . The Xinhua news agency posted a translated running transcript of the event on its Web site . The United States also streamed the forum live on WhiteHouse.gov . Chinese censors did not block the event to those with Internet access . The final stop of Obama 's trek is Seoul , where he will meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak , and deliver a speech to U.S. troops at Osan Air Base . Obama is on an eight-day journey that is taking him to Japan , Singapore , China and South Korea . He 'll return to the United States on Friday . The president left for China from Singapore , where he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic forum . He met on the sidelines with world leaders , including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev .
NEW : Obama to hold formal talks with South Korean President Hu Jintao in U.S. . NEW : New U.S. poll shows split on whether Chinese pose military threat . Obama tells students free flow of info a source of strength , despite sting . Beijing imports billions of dollars in Chinese products Friday .