China to loom large in PM-Obama talks

US president Barack Obama was today ceremonially received by President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi ahead of talks with government leaders that will see him address parliament, underlining the ties which the two countries hope to strengthen.

Speaking to the media at Rahstrapati Bhawan afterwards, Obama said that his India trip would improve and strengthen the "be a defining partnership of the 21st century".

''We are two largest democracies in the world, we share people to people contact, we share core set of values," he said. "We will be able to continue to build on the commercial ties that we already have, to strengthen our co-operation in bilateral relations in the international economy,"

Obama has met with some criticism at home for travelling abroad so soon after his mauling in mid-term elections over unemployment, and there is a perception that while his body is in India, his mind is in the US, where he is already facing turbulence in the Congress. But he has been well received in India, vowing to lift export controls and announcing $10 billion in business deals earlier in Mumbai, where he met business leaders.

Obama will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is expected to urge Obama to push Pakistan to crack down on anti-India militants and discuss support from India over China's currency and dealing with global financial imbalances ahead of a G20 summit in Seoul this week.

The US is set to convey its commitment to the easing of high-tech exports to India, support New Delhi's membership of premier nuclear clubs and back a bigger role for the country in global affairs, especially in East Asia.