US-China may announce deal on nuclear security (VIDEO)

President Barack Obama plans to announce a deal Wednesday to step up cooperation with China on nuclear security, according to the Associated Press.

Quoting unnamed U.S. officials, the AP reports that the agreement, to be signed by U.S. and Chinese energy officials during President Hu Jintao's four-day visit, would establish a jointly financed nuclear security center in China.

The venture would be aimed at training to improve security at nuclear facilities and the accounting of nuclear materials.

The announcement on nuclear security comes as the Obama administration is looking for ways to ease tensions between the two world powers over economic, trade and security issues.

Hu is in Washington as part of a four-day visit, billed as the most important by a Chinese leader in 30 years and one of the most important of the Obama presidency, will  likely set the stage for future relations between the United States and China.

However, the visit comes amid concern that Hu lacks the leadership strength within his party and country to make commitments that will have a dramatic impact on the U.S.-China relationship.

Later Wednesday, Hu will receive an official welcome ceremony and begin talks on issues ranging from economic differences to North Korea.

He has already visited the White House for an informal dinner with Obama Tuesday night during which only two top aides to each man were present, and note-takers were barred, to enable candid discussion.

Obama will host a formal state dinner for his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday, the third state dinner held by the administration and a gesture usually reserved for close friends and allies of the United States.

The last White House state dinner for a Chinese leader was 13 years ago, when President Bill Clinton welcomed President Jiang Zemin in 1997.

Before Hu's arrival, U.S. legislators and demonstrators criticized China's human rights record, including political repression, and called for Obama to press the issue in his talks with the Chinese leader.

"It is more important to honor and remember those who cannot attend this State Dinner rather than those who will be in attendance," Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said in a statement, CNN reported. "While the guests are dining on expensive and extravagant food there will be scores who will be oppressed and placed behind bars by the Chinese government because of their faith and political beliefs; people like Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo who is in prison."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama would raise human rights concerns in his talks with Hu.

This week's meetings between the leaders of the world's two largest economies also put the spotlight on criticism that the government-controlled People's Bank of China artificially undervalues the yuan, bringing down the cost of Chinese exports, which would give it an advantage in the international market.

Last week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said China must do more to address its undervalued currency and dependence on exports. And on Monday, a group of U.S. senators said it was vital that Congress pass legislation to get tough with China over its currency practices. 

But Hu has dismissed the argument that price stability is a reason for yuan appreciation, telling the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal that Chinese inflation is "moderate and controllable."