SHANGHAI — China, the largest foreign holder of United States debt, said Saturday that Washington needed to “cure its addiction to debts” and “live within its means,” just hours after the rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s long-term debt.

The harshly worded commentary, which was released by China’s official Xinhua news agency, was Beijing’s latest effort to express its displeasure with Washington.

Beijing’s reaction to the downgrade was the harshest among foreign leaders.

Officials in Japan and France said their faith in the United States government remained strong. The Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, warned against overreacting, while the Indian finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, said the downgrade had created a “grave” situation, one that would require some time to analyze.

Washington (CNN) — Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in the United States on Tuesday for a state visit that will include high-profile talks with President Barack Obama on trade, currency, North Korea and other issues.

The three-day trip includes a state dinner on Wednesday and the eighth face-to-face meeting between Obama and the Chinese leader, which administration officials say illustrates the importance of relations between two global powers at a time described by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a “critical juncture.”

BEIJING — Chinese leader Hu Jintao is being feted in Washington this week with a lavish state banquet at the White House and other pomp usually reserved for close friends and allies — all intended to improve the tone of relations between a risen, more assertive and prosperous China and the U.S. superpower in a tenuous economic recovery.

The shaky trust between the United States and China has been eroding recently because of an array of issues — currency policies and trade barriers, nuclear proliferation and North Korea, and both sides seem to recognize the need to recalibrate relations.

BEIJING – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged China on Monday to work with the United States to coordinate a response to the sinking of a South Korean warship, which has been blamed on North Korea.

Opening high-level U.S.-China strategic and economic talks in Beijing, Clinton said North Korea must be held to account for the incident, which international investigators have determined was caused by a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine.

Washington (CNN) — Financial reform? Not exactly. The bill before Congress does nothing to address the fundamental background causes of the crash of 2008.

Wall Street may have been the instrument of the crash. But the crash was made elsewhere: in Washington’s failed policies for middle-class families — and in China’s distorted rush for economic growth.

The story is not a simple one. But I hope you will pay attention to the details. If you don’t, you may find that the pocket that has been picked is your own.

Washington (CNN) — President Obama and Chinese leader Hu Jintao are meeting Monday about nuclear security and other issues. The meeting comes as part of a two-day summit on how to better safeguard nuclear weapons materials and keep them out of the hands of terrorists.

Here’s a look at some highs and lows in the sometimes rocky relationship between the U.S. and China.

Washington (CNN) — President Obama met with fellow Nobel Prize winner the Dalai Lama at the White House on Thursday, amid concerns from China over the visit.

Because of the diplomatic sensitivities over the tension between China and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, every aspect has been choreographed and worked out in advance. For one, the president met with the Dalai Lama in the Map Room, which is part of the residence at the White House, and not in the Oval Office.

Washington (CNN) — Overriding objections from China, the Obama administration unveiled a $6.4 billion arms deal with Taiwan on Friday — including about $2.85 billion in missiles.

The sale includes 60 Black Hawk helicopters (totaling $3.1 billion), 114 advanced Patriot air defense missiles; a pair of Osprey mine-hunting ships; and dozens of advanced communications systems.

China has complained to the United States about the sale of Patriot missiles and other weapons to Taiwan, which neither Beijing nor Washington recognize as a sovereign nation.

BEIJING – President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao emerged from hours of intense talks Tuesday determined to marshal their combined clout on crucial issues, but still showing divisions over economic, security and human rights issues that have long bedeviled the two powers.

“The relationship between our two nations goes far beyond any single issue,” Obama said in a joint appearance with Hu that followed about 2 1/2 hours of formal, closed-door conversations.

Mayor Ray Nagin, who traveled to China on an economic development trip, flew on a plane that carried a passenger being treated for symptoms suspected to be from the virus, commonly known as the swine flu virus, the mayor’s office said in a statement.

Nagin, his wife and a member of his security detail have been quarantined in Shanghai, China, though all three are symptom free, the statement said.

“The mayor is being treated with utmost courtesy by Chinese officials,” the statement said.

Ceeon Quiett, the mayor’s director of communications, told CNN that Nagin had been sitting beside a passenger who “exhibited the symptoms of H1N1,” but Nagin showed no signs of illness.