On what may be her final trip to China as America's top diplomat, Hillary Clinton failed to find any agreement over Syria or the South China Sea and saw her meeting with the country's next president cancelled. Mrs Clinton was told late on Tuesday night that Xi Jinping, 59, would not meet her. Such is the tension surrounding Mrs Clinton's trip to Beijing that many suspected it was a deliberate snub. Ahead of her visit, the state-run Global Times newspaper said bluntly: "Many Chinese people do not like Hillary Clinton [...] She makes the Chinese public dislike and be wary of the United States."
However, Mr Xi, who is likely to be unveiled at the pinnacle of the Communist party after the 18th Party Congress in mid-October, was reported to have injured his back. Mr Xi also cancelled his other engagements yesterday, including a meeting with Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong. Mrs Clinton did meet with Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, the current president and premier, but found little common ground.
On Syria, China repeated its policy of non-interference. Mrs Clinton has said in the past that vetoes at the United Nations Security Council from China and Russia would put the two nations "one the wrong side of history". However, in what appeared to be a direct rebuke, Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Foreign minister told a press conference yesterday: "I think history will judge that China's position on the Syria question is a promotion of the appropriate handling of the situation."
Mrs Clinton, in turn, said she had been "disappointed" by China's actions. However, she noted that this was her fifth trip to China, and that the two countries were working to "build habits of cooperation" which have seen them "literally consult almost on a daily basis."
On the thorny problem of sovereignty in the South China Sea, where several nations have overlapping claims, Mrs Clinton called for China to work on a multilateral code of conduct. Mr Yang said that China had "plentiful historical and jurisprudential evidence" for its claims to virtually all of the South China Sea, but agreed a code of conduct was necessary. Clinton has voiced hope that China, which claims virtually all of the South China Sea, will agree to work out a code of conduct on regional territorial disputes, and has encouraged Southeast Asian nations to stand united.
"The US should respect China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect China's national core interests and the people's feelings," said Wen Jiabao, during his meeting with Mrs Clinton.
China has in the past called off meetings at the last minute to show displeasure, although Xi has generally made US-friendly statements and sought warm relations during a trip across the United States earlier this year. But Beijing has repeatedly expressed concern over what it sees as interference by Washington in the region.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said ahead of Clinton's arrival Tuesday that China hoped the United States would "do more to promote regional peace and stability, instead of the opposite."