**President Barack Obama will open his his maiden visit to China with a town hall style meeting on Monday with young people in Shanghai.**His arrival in China’s largest city marks the latest stage of his eight-day Asian tour.
During the trip President Obama has affirmed his commitment to strengthen ties with the region’s superpower.
Chinese state media outlets have asked the public to submit questions for Mr Obama in Shanghai.
Many of the questions urge him to clarify any plans to meet the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader whom Beijing dismisses as a “separatist”, Reuters news agency reported.
The BBC’s Chris Hogg in Shanghai says negotiations over how and where the town hall meeting will be broadcast have lasted more than two weeks, as events of this nature are sensitive in China.
A spokesman for the US Embassy in Beijing told Reuters that the town hall meeting is likely to be broadcast only on local television channels, scuppering US hopes that it would be shown nationwide on Chinese television.
OBAMA ASIA TOUR
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- Friday 13: Arrived in Japan
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- Saturday 14: Joined Apec summit in Singapore
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- Sunday 15: Had talks with Russia’s President Medvedev before leaving for China
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- Tuesday 17: Summit in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao
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- Wednesday 18: Ends tour in South Korea
Apec seeks new balance of power
Obama seeks to reassure Asia allies
President Obama is due to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Tuesday, where talks will cover economic imbalances, concerns over Iran and North Korea and the effort to tackle climate change.
Mr Obama has also signalled that he will raise the subject of human rights concerns in Beijing, but has not mentioned specific concerns, such as Tibet.
Speaking in Tokyo earlier in the week, Mr Obama said welcomed a strong China, adding that better US ties with Beijing did not mean a weakening of relations with US allies in the region.
In an online survey on US-China relations, 80% of Chinese respondents said the United States did not want to see their country rise, the Chinese magazine Globe reported.