Paul Eckert

US-China relations are at a critical juncture and a summit between their leaders next week must produce "real action, on real issues".

Chinese state media blasted the United States on Monday for a planned $6,4-billion arms package for Taiwan.

Although United States President Barack Obama has never set foot there, China cast a long shadow in the Pacific region where he grew up.

Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday promised to put a ''notable'' brake on the country's rapidly rising carbon emissions.

The internet has helped Wang Dan span the distance from his home in Los Angeles to Beijing, where 20 years ago he led the Tiananmen protests.

Leaders from Asia and the Americas promised on Saturday to push for a global free trade deal and reform international lenders.

President George Bush gave the Dalai Lama one of the highest United States honours on Wednesday and called on China to open talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader whom Beijing reviles as a separatist. The Dalai Lama, accepting the Congressional Gold Medal from Bush and leaders of Congress, told a packed audience in the US Capitol that he had ''no hidden agenda''.

President George Bush hosted the Dalai Lama on Tuesday despite China's warning that US plans to honour the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader could damage relations between Beijing and Washington. Beijing has bitterly denounced plans for the Dalai Lama to receive the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday.