Dharamsala, November 10 – The United States President Barack Obama intends to raise “freedom of expression, rule of law and Tibet” with Chinese President Hu Jintao during his visit to China next week, a senior White House official said.

Jeffrey Bader, National Security Council senior director for East Asian affairs, said yesterday the president will raise human rights concerns “directly with President Hu.”

Bader made the comments during a telephone conference call yesterday with reporters about Obama’s first trip to Asia as president, which begins Nov. 12.

White House adviser Valerie Jarrett travelled to Dharamsala in September and met with the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Jarrett said Obama would meet with His Holiness after the president’s trip to Asia, a commitment Bader reiterated.

In his first Asia trip, Obama will visit Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul, and Beijing, where he will meet with Hu. A state dinner for Obama is on the cards as well.

“I wouldn’t want to forecast exactly what he would say at this stage, but the kinds of issues that are on our minds are issues of freedom of expression, access to information, freedom of religion, rule of law, and certainly Tibet,” Bader said.

Obama recently came under criticism from rights groups for not meeting the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama during the latter’s visit to Washington. However, the president had rejected criticism that he is giving short shrift to human rights. “I don’t find the critics credible,” he told Reuters. “If you look at my statements, they have been entirely consistent. We believe in the values of freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, that are not just core American values but we believe are universal values.”