mr. carney: good afternoon, everyone. thanksfor being here. happy valentine's day to all of you from all of us. before i get started, i wanted to make note,if i could, of a development in the senate. as you may know, but may not, the senate issoon scheduled to confirm alberto jordan, our nominee for the 11th circuit. jordan isa current, well-respected district court judge, supported by senators nelson and rubio, andhe was reported unanimously out by the judiciary committee months ago. and he will now be thefirst cuban american on the 11th circuit. despite his sterling credentials and the bipartisansupport that he enjoys, republicans filibustered this nomination. to overcome the filibuster,leader reid had to file cloture, a procedure
that while once extraordinary is now commonplaceout of necessity. cloture was invoked last night, 89 to 5, but republicans are stillforcing the senate to burn time in a blatant delay tactic. leader reid had to go throughextraordinary measures to get a judge confirmed with no republican opposition, and a seathe will fill is a judicial emergency seat. now, the reason why i raise this, even thoughmr. jordan will be confirmed, is that it is so indicative of a breakdown in the systemwhen a nominee as highly qualified as he is, with bipartisan support as he has, who's reportedout of committee unanimously, still faces filibusters. and you have to ask yourselfwhy that is. it's just simply delay tactics, and they're shameful.
there are 17 other judicial nominations pendingon the senate calendar; 14 were reported out unanimously; seven of those would fill judicialemergencies and seven are represented by at least one republican senator. and yet thedelay tactics continue. with that, i will take your questions. hello. q hi. china has fought the strongest internationalaction on both iran and syria, going back some time, including the veto 10 days agoof the u.n. security council action on syria. did the president raise that with vice presidentxi today? and from your meetings with vice president xi, do you see any indication thata china under his leadership would behave any differently?
mr. carney: well, let me take a step back,if i might, to give you a sense of this visit. it is a reciprocal visit. as you know, vicepresident biden visited the people's republic of china last year, and vice president xiof the people's republic is now here being hosted by vice president biden. he met, as you know, earlier today with presidentobama, and they had a good meeting. it was quite a long meeting, in fact, in part becauseof the full range of issues that our two nations have to discuss. it is an important bilateralrelationship and it is one where we speak candidly about the concerns we have -- whetherit’s issues of trade or currency or, as you raised, matters of national security orforeign policy, as in syria.
so i don’t have a specific point-by-pointreadout yet of the president’s meeting with vice president xi, but you can be sure thatthey discussed the full range of issues, that vice president xi will have those discussionsnot just with the president, but with vice president biden, with secretary of state clinton,and others. i can tell you that, as i mentioned, the meetingran long. it lasted from 11:25 a.m. until 10 minutes to 1:00 p.m. the president saidafterwards that the reason he was taking the extra time was because of the importance ofthe relationship and cooperation in dealing with a range of challenges that these two-- our two countries face together. the meeting began on a lighter note when vicepresident xi said he was going to iowa on
wednesday and the president replied that he,vice president biden, and secretary of state clinton all know iowa very well. and if imay, of those three, i would say that it’s fair to say that the president probably hasthe fondest memories of iowa. (laughter.) at the end of the meeting, vice presidentxi invited president obama and the first lady to china. q and? mr. carney: stay tuned. (laughter.) q so no specific indication from vice presidentxi -- mr. carney: you can be sure that our -- ihave no specific readout yet on the meetings,
but you can be sure that all of these issuesare raised in meetings like this. it is elemental to the kind of relationship that we’ve establishedwith china in this administration that we speak very candidly about the full range ofissues that are on the table between us -- both ones where we cooperate very effectively andwhere we have concerns -- and that includes our disappointment that china joined withrussia in vetoing the united nations security council resolution not long ago with regardsto syria. yes. q: jay, a follow-up to that. did the questionof currencies come up specifically in the conversation? the president mentioned thetrade imbalance, but did currencies in particular
come up? mr. carney: again, i don’t have a point-by-pointreadout of that meeting for you. i can tell you that, generally speaking, as has beenclear, because we talk about it both publicly and in our meetings with chinese leaders,currency is an issue where we have some concerns and where we have urged the chinese to takefurther steps to appreciate the chinese currency. and while, again, i don’t have a readoutof the oval office meeting point by point, you can be sure that that is one of the issuesthat are discussed in all our meetings with members of the chinese leadership. it wascertainly in the bilateral that the president had on his asia trip with president hu, andis the kind of -- is one of the issues that
is routinely raised in our meetings. q and in the preparations for this meeting,was there a concern that this meeting taking place so soon after the veto of the resolutionon syria, that that sort of cast a bit of tension over the meeting and the relationship? mr. carney: well, as you know, this visitwas planned quite some time ago. but i think i would point you to what i said before. thereare a number of issues -- this is an important bilateral relationship between the unitedstates and china. we engage on the full range of economic, national security, and otherissues. and we are able, in our discussions with the chinese, to talk about all the areaswhere we cooperate, including military-to-military
cooperation -- an area of cooperation thati think is highlighted by vice president xi's visit to the pentagon -- as well as wherewe have disagreements. and certainly the recent vote in the united nations security councilis one area where we have a disagreement. q and just one other topic. i know you'replanning to release something on corporate taxes by the end of the month. do you haveany update on when we can expect that? mr. carney: i don't know that i have a dayto give you, but we will be putting that out before the end of the month. jake. q can i just follow up on her question?
mr. carney: sure. q what is the white house's impression ofvice president xi, in terms of the direction he's going to take china -- whether or nothe's going to be -- a reformer, or his path through the communist party is prologue? whatis the take? i know that national security advisor donilon, this is his area of expertise,china. mr. carney: well, it's an important enoughrelationship that there is no single interlocutor, if you will. the vice president has a role;the national security advisor; secretary geithner; secretary clinton. the president, obviously,leads the entire effort. i think it's both too early for us to make those kinds of evaluations,but also would be inappropriate to speculate.
vice president xi is the likely future leaderof china. he, obviously, at this time is vice president. president hu is the leader of thatcountry and the head of state. so we -- our interactions with him are the ones that itis on issues -- decision-making issues that we deal with president hu, obviously, at thispoint. so i think it's premature to make those kindsof judgments. but it is a measure of the importance of the relationship for both countries thatvice president xi is here, and that he is having the kinds of meetings that he's havingtoday. let me move around if i could. let me go -- yes,sir, in the back. q i'm a political journalist and politicalanalyst from china. i have been here for two
and a half years, and i have always seen theamerican government, the obama government, place much more importance on the appreciationof the renminbi. mr. carney: on the appreciation of the renminbi? q yes, place much more importance on the appreciationof the renminbi. our readers are very concerned whether the u.s. government is much less interestedin the human rights situation in china. and our readers are also interested to know whetherthe u.s. government will center on the human rights issue and policy between middle eastregion and china. can you talk to our readers about these two issues? mr. carney: well, i would simply say thatwe have, in our relationship with the people's
republic of china, a whole host of issues,as i was saying before. and we always raise human rights concerns at the highest levelswhen we have meetings with senior members of the chinese leadership, and we will continueto do that. it is simply not the case that we emphasize one aspect of our relationshipover the other. they are all important -- both the areas where we agree, and the areas wherewe disagree. and we certainly express ourselves openly when we have concerns about human rightsissues, as we do in this case. president obama is very aware of that issue,as is vice president biden and secretary of state clinton and others. ed.
q jay, general dempsey today was testifyingin the senate armed services committee and was talking about -- he said that some peoplein china are hacking into u.s. computers. and senator lindsay graham said that he washaving lunch with the vice president of china in a few moments and said, "is there a messagei can carry to him?" and the general said, "happy valentine's day." it drew a lot oflaughter, because he was talking about how he believes there's crimes being committed,and he was pretty blunt about that. what is the president's message on these issues, whetherit's hacking, whether it's human rights? the broad range that you've been talking about-- broad brush -- i mean, most americans are looking at what's happening, and they're seeingtoasts and friendly, diplomatic talk, but
there are some really serious issues thatdivide them. are they really being addressed behind closed doors? mr. carney: oh, you can be sure that theyare. and i think that is evidenced by the fact that the president, in his state of theunion address to millions of americans, announced his trade enforcement unit to address issuesof the need to establish a level playing field in our trade relationships, including butnot exclusively -- including china but not exclusively with china -- and in the factthat whenever we have these meetings, as i was saying, that these issues are raised. i wouldn’t -- i think that -- the testimonythat you referred to i think is more evidence
of the concern that we have about that issue,that we speak publicly about, and we discuss with members of congress as well as with thechinese and others. and again, i think that it is a hallmark of the relationship thatwe have established between this administration and china that we are able to discuss thewhole array of issues involved in our relationship, both those where we agree and have strongcooperation and those where we disagree and have concerns. q on the economy, a real quick follow-up.paul bedard, of the d.c. examiner, had an item, i think yesterday, saying that a manfrom maine who's unemployed had sent the president a letter, and the president replied in hisown handwriting and said, "i won't lie to
you, it will probably take another year ortwo to fully dig out of this hole." i know the president has talked generally about howit's going to take a long time. but is that basically the white house timetable? you thinkit's going to take a year or two? mr. carney: well, i don't have a timetableto give you. i happened to catch that and noted the framing, which is ironic, becausei think anyone who looks at the facts and the 8 million jobs that we lost because ofthe great recession would note that while we have gained 3.7 million private sectorjobs since the economy began growing again, that obviously leaves a substantial hole tofill. and that's why the president is so focusedon extending the payroll tax cut, extending
unemployment insurance, and passing the measuresthat will enhance the rebound of american manufacturing, passing the other aspects ofthe american jobs act to put teachers back to work and construction workers onto thejob. so, yes, the work is not done. recovery fromthis terrible recession is underway, but it is far from finished. and i think that's reflectedin the letter that you mentioned. norah. q can i ask you about syria? yesterday youtalked about the "friends of syria" meeting that would be convened february 24th, in tunisia,and then the president spoke with prime minister cameron yesterday. is the president goingto be making a series of calls to world leaders
in terms of trying to gather and garner moresupport towards some sort of additional action in syria? mr. carney: well, i don't have any additionalcalls to preview for you or read out. but the president is very engaged in this issue,as is, of course, the secretary of state, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations,and others. we are working with our allies and partners within the "friends of syria"context to examine all ways that we can further pressure the assad regime to get it to ceaseits reprehensible violence against its own people. q without any security council backing, whatreally can the u.s. do additionally? what
other options do we have? mr. carney: well, we can continue to put pressureon the regime through sanctions. we can continue to move towards assisting the syrian peoplethrough humanitarian aid. and we can continue to make the case internationally to thosewho have yet to agree with us -- and they are in a distinct minority -- that the assadregime has lost its legitimacy and needs to go. so we will, you can be sure, continue to workvery hard to try to bring about the transition to democracy that the syrian people so clearlywant and deserve before it is too late. there is a political solution to be had here, andit is imperative that every nation that considers
itself a friend of the syrian people act onthe syrian people's behalf. q last night, on our evening news, i reportedthat the white house, an official had told me that because of the security council'sfailure to even condemn the violence in syria, that china and russia's veto amounted to a"license to kill." so -- mr. carney: i agree with that. i agree withthat assessment. it is -- and it is a warning that we made to our fellow ambassadors andothers up at the united nations prior to the united nations security council vote, thatfailure to pass that resolution would be, essentially, a signal to assad that he couldact with further impunity in brutalizing his own people, killing innocent syrian civilians.and that has seemed to have been the case.
and it is highly regrettable that that vetooccurred and that the resolution didn't pass. and that's why it is so important for actionto be taken, for the international community of nations who consider themselves friendsof the syrian people to come together and do everything they can to further pressurethe assad regime and to assist the syrian q and then just, finally, on corporate taxreform -- do you envision a scenario where the president and his advisors would consultrepublican leaders on that tax reform proposal before putting it out in order to try to getthem on board so that it could actually be passed this year? or is the president justgoing to put it forward, like he does with other proposals?
mr. carney: well, we intend to put forwardour corporate tax reform proposal. we certainly hope that -- q are you trying to get republicans on boardfor it to -- mr. carney: well, i don't think this was acase of getting people on board before. i think this is an issue where there is theopportunity, or at least the potential, for bipartisan compromise. the president has madehis principles pretty clear in his approach to corporate tax reform, and they are soundprinciples, and again, principles that we believe should have broad bipartisan support. and once that proposal is put forward, wewill certainly engage with congress to see
if there is an opening here to get somethingdone. as i was saying i think just the other day, i think it's a fallacy to assume thatthere cannot be significant accomplishments on capitol hill this year just because it'san election year. in fact, the opposite may be true. it's certainly worth trying. steve. q in general terms, is the u.s. interestedin using this visit by vice president xi to ask china to lessen its dependence on iranianoil imports, as you try and isolate iran even more? mr. carney: well, i think that that issueis one of a portfolio of issues that are likely
to be discussed in these meetings. i thinkit's important, again, to note, however -- stepping back -- that this is a reciprocal visit ofthe vice president of the people's republic to the united states, hosted by the vice presidentof the united states. he is not the leader of china, but the presumed future leader ofchina. but these are important discussions to have, certainly. q just following up on that -- india has saidit won't implement any sanctions on iran that aren't endorsed by the u.n. security council.the president spent a lot of time engaging india. is this something that could complicatethe improved u.s. relations that this administration has pushed?
mr. carney: well, i don't know about that.i think that we have made clear to all of our allies and partners around the world aboutthe importance of isolating the regime in tehran and putting pressure on iran to giveup its nuclear weapons ambitions. we will continue to work with countries around theglobe in furthering that goal, and that includes, obviously, india as well as many other nations. carol. q why did the president decide to go specificallyto boeing in washington state on friday to talk about his manufacturing goals? is hetrying to send some sort of message to labor, given the dispute that boeing was in lastyear? is he going to have a message for labor
while he's there? mr. carney: well, i don't want to previewhis remarks there. i think that boeing is an important manufacturer in the united states.as i think you remember, on his asia trip he worked with boeing -- there was an announcementof a major trade deal that represents a significant growth in that industry. so i don't think it has -- i think it hasto do with the revitalization of the american manufacturing sector most of all, and boeingis obviously a good story in that regard. q it's also a place that's been caught upin right-to-work and moving workers around, and obviously labor is a very important constituencyof the president's. is he going to talk about
that? did that factor into his decision todo this? mr. carney: i'm not aware that it factored-- i think the issue here is about the revitalization of american manufacturing, the measures thepresident wants congress to take and the measures he will take through his executive authorityto try to continue this rebound in american manufacturing. and i think that will be theprimary message that he'll deliver when he visits boeing on friday. hans. q just to follow up on that invite for thevisit. was that for this year? mr. carney: i think it was just a generalinvitation. i don't have a timeframe on it.
q so it wasn’t like he was presupposingthat -- mr. carney: i wouldn't factor that as rightaway, hans. q it's a serious question. was it more just,oh, you should come visit, stop by with the kids sometimes -- (laughter) -- or was ita formal invite? i know when you're throwing your dinner parties you sometimes have twocategories -- specific date. mr. carney: i think it was a serious invitationmade by the vice president of the people's republic to the president. but i don't havea timeframe for you on it. q was a timeframe given? mr. carney: not that i'm aware of.
q jay, there's a report out that the administrationis considering, along with some of the allies, kicking iran out of an outfit called swift,an independent financial clearinghouse, that would really put the financial screws to themin a big way. what are the prospects for that? mr. carney: i'll have to take the question.i don't have information on that for you. perhaps treasury does. q and on another issue, the president referencedin his comments today about the tax cut extension the rising oil prices, rising gasoline pricesthat people are facing. what is the administration doing right now in terms of tracking wherethese prices are headed upwards so dramatically, and what are the prospects for possibly tappingthe strategic petroleum reserve again to try
to bring the prices down? mr. carney: well, as was the case earlierin this administration when we saw a rise in prices like this, we monitor them verycarefully. the president is keenly aware of the impact that higher gas prices have onfamilies trying to make ends meet. i think the point he was making today with regardsto the payroll tax cut extension is that at a time when prices at the pump are going up,it is more important than ever to get that extra $40, on average, per pay period in thepockets of american men and women who need it to pay the bills. our approach to this begins with the recognitionthat there's no silver bullet in dealing with
global oil prices, and that's why he pursuesan "all of the above" agenda when it comes to reducing our dependence on foreign oil,increasing domestic production of oil and gas, increasing our investments in clean energy.and it's really an "all of the above" approach. as for the strategic petroleum reserve, aswas the case back when we had this discussion i think almost a year ago, we never take optionsoff the table. but i have nothing -- no announcements to make or anything like that. q do you think those price increases are onthe up and up? mr. carney: i think that oil prices have beengoing up internationally and we monitor them very closely. i don't have an assessment ofthem beyond that. maybe you might want to
address your question to the treasury or justicedepartments. q china is iran's biggest oil customer. andas the u.s. is looking to limit iran's oil exports, what kinds of -- one, i guess willthe president -- is that being addressed by vice president biden and the president? andwhat kind of assurances are you hoping to get from china that they won't increase theirconsumption of oil from iran? mr. carney: well, you rightly identify thisas an issue that we have raised with our allies and partners around the world. and it is certainlyon the list of topics that are discussed in meetings with the chinese leadership, includingin these meetings with vice president xi. i don't have, like i said earlier, a detailedreadout of the oval office that the chinese
vice president had with the president. buti can assure you that this is a topic that is, of course, one that we discuss with thechinese leadership as well as with other countries. i don't have any readouts to give you in termsof their response to this issue that we raise, but it is certainly our position that we needto work collectively to put pressure on iran, to isolate iran, and one way to do that isto limit the import of iranian oil. so this is an important issue. q how is this visit maybe solidifying somesort of assurance? mr. carney: again, i don't have specificsabout the interchanges at this point. but it is an issue that we raise with the chinese,as we raise it with many other countries.
and it is part of an effort, a concerted effort,that has, i might remind you, resulted in the strictest sanctions with the greatestimpact that have ever been imposed on iran. and that impact is i think evident now toobservers and having an effect on both the iranian economy and on the iranian leadership. yes, mark. q payroll tax cut -- heard the president'sassessment earlier today. is it the view of the white house things are close to an accord,or not that close? and perhaps even more important, is this a case where nothing is agreed tountil everything is agreed to, including the doc fix and the jobless benefits extension?
mr. carney: well, let me make a couple ofpoints about that -- first, most importantly, point you to the comments the president madetoday -- as ever, he says it best, and he did today, about his views of the currentdiscussions underway about how to extend the payroll tax cut, how to extend unemploymentinsurance and the so-called doc fix. i guess it is a hopeful sign, although youmight say a confusing sign, that republicans who once declared that tax cuts never haveto be paid for, then insisted that tax cuts for working americans had to be paid for,are now saying that perhaps tax cuts don't need to be paid for -- these same tax cuts.again, confusing, but a sign that they are committed as the president is to extendingthe payroll tax cut through the end of the
calendar year. the president made clear today, and i'll makeclear again here, that it is essential for the economy as well as for recipients of unemploymentinsurance that those benefits be extended as well. it is essential -- and i don't thinkyou'll find much disagreement about this on capitol hill -- that doctors who receive medicarepayments do not get a 27 percent cut in those payments this year. so that doc fix needsto be extended through the end of the year. otherwise it would have a serious impact onsenior citizens and their access to the physicians they need to see for their health. so all three of these elements of what wasthe package that was extended for two months
at the end of last year are very important,and we look forward to working with congress to find a resolution that ensures that allthree are extended. they're all important to the economy in different ways. and as thepresident made clear earlier, it is of vital importance that congress not muck up the recoverythat we're seeing underway, the growth in the economy and the growth in job creationthat has been evident of late. one way to muck it up would be to somehow to fail toextend the payroll tax cut, or somehow fail to extend unemployment insurance benefitsor the doc fix. so we look forward to working with congressto make it all happen, and how we get from here to there i will leave to congress todecide. but we are confident that with good
faith and goodwill, it will all get done. yes, ari. q as you talk about judge jordan being confirmed,are you trying to signal that the elimination of this backlog of judges is going to be moreof a priority for the white house going forward? and apart from expressing frustration aboutit, what can you do? mr. carney: well, we can't change the rulesof the senate -- although on some days i'm sure we wish we could. my point is simplyto highlight what has become a major problem in the conduct of normal business on capitolhill. when you have judicial nominees who are highly qualified, who have the supportof members of both parties, who are reported
out of the judiciary committee unanimouslyand then get held up in filibuster, you have to wonder what's wrong. and you should notbe surprised then that americans get so frustrated with the gridlock and the playing of politicshere in washington. q you don’t often talk about judges fromthe podium, and groups that advocate for the president's judges are sometimes frustratedthat you haven’t. they say you could use the bully pulpit and megaphone more than youhave. mr. carney: we think all of our qualifiednominees should be confirmed by the senate without delay. i took this opportunity becauseit came to my attention that this highly qualified nominee was going to be confirmed today andthat he had gone through this ridiculously
long and delayed process for apparently noother reason than politics. and it was an opportunity to make a point. all the way in the back. q on syria, last week you said that the assadregime is not going to last. what makes you so sure of that when russia and china vetoa decision with the united nations? and also, if you are predicting, when will things unfold?this year, summer, fall -- when? mr. carney: well, i don't have an exact date,but i think it is -- i know it is our view that the assad regime's days are numbered.he has clearly lost control of parts of his country. he has -- there are signs that membersof the leadership in both the military and
the government are looking for ways to distancethemselves or get out of his orbit. and he has certainly lost all credibility with hispeople and with the international community. history will not forget what he has done inthese past months, and certainly the syrian people will never forget it. i don't havepredictions on when, but i think it is a matter – it’s not a matter of if, but it is amatter of when. and we will work in a concerted effort with the "friends of syria" to furtherpressure assad, further isolate his regime, assist the syrian people and try to bringabout the democratic transition that the syrian people so clearly deserve and want. yes, alexis.
q jay, the president is going to be goingout around the country again, and i'm just curious, if the house republicans are retreatingin some ways on the payroll tax, coming around more to the president's way of thinking, doesthe president believe that going out to the country has actually been effective policy,he is applying pressure in congress in a way that's going to be producing maybe deliverablesthis year? is it working? mr. carney: well, maybe you can assess thatfor us. i think that the president, as i said in the past, very much looks forward to gettingout of town and speaking with americans about his agenda and the efforts he's undertakingto grow the economy and create jobs. he certainly has used that opportunity to call on congressto act, to call on americans to let their
representatives know how they feel with regardsto the initiatives that he's put forward to grow the economy and create jobs. i think that in the case of the payroll taxcut, it is clearly a good thing, with the economy recovering but still in a fragilestate, to extend this payroll tax cut through the end of the year. it is a hard argumentto make that it is not a good thing. and it is i think a hard argument to make, or aneven harder argument to make, if one were to try to make it, in an election year whenmembers of congress have to explain to their constituents what they did while they wereaway in washington and what they did to help the economy and help jobs.
so we expect that for all those reasons congresswill do the right thing and act on what should have been and can now be something that hasbroad bipartisan support. the president will continue to go out and talk about his agenda,talk about the policies he is putting into place to try to grow the economy and createjobs. and he will look for allies everywhere in that effort. goyal. q thank you. two questions. one, in recentweeks a number of governors have been going visiting india on a mission, what they'vebeen calling bringing jobs back to the u.s. from india with trade relations. and presidentalso had the prime minister of india -- they
discussed also. what is the future that asfar as thousands of jobs coming back from india to the u.s., as far as u.s.-india tradeand economic relations? mr. carney: well, i think there's a very brightfuture in u.s.-indian relations, and economic relations and trade, and that is true regardlessof the effort that this president has undertaken to give more momentum to a trend that is alreadytaking place, which is the insourcing of jobs from overseas -- insourcing of american manufacturingjobs and other jobs -- american companies are bringing those jobs back to the unitedstates from a variety of places around the world. we obviously think that's a good thing forthis country, for this economy. but broadly
speaking, trade with india, trade with china,trade with countries all around the world is vital to global economy growth and especiallyto economic growth in the united states. and this president has set a goal of doublingour exports by 2015. we are on track to meet that goal, and this president will do everythinghe can to enhance and spur economic growth so that we do meet that goal by 2015. q you think governors from maryland and virginiawill make any difference because of their visits? mr. carney: i’m sure they will. i thinkit’s important to have those kinds of visits. q and second question, on china’s vice president'svisit, hundreds of tibetans are demonstrating
outside the white house. they're asking forhuman rights, justice for tibetans, and also they're saying that tibet was never part ofchina and u.s. should change its policy, that it’s not one china, but tibet is a freecountry. and also there’s a concern from human rights organizations as far as humanrights and also prison labor -- most of the things coming around the globe, includingthe u.s. is made from forced labors. mr. carney: well, goyal, you know as i wassaying earlier, that we take human rights issues very seriously. we are not shy aboutraising those issues in our meetings with members of the chinese leadership. and itis part of the relationship that we have that we can talk about the whole range of issuesthat we -- that are on the table between us,
and human rights is certainly one of them. q and finally, just quickly. mr. carney: goyal, i just want to give othersa chance if i could. anybody? (laughter.) q anybody? mr. carney: anybody. yes, ma’am. q i just want to follow up on the human rightsissue, because vice president biden in his luncheon speech mentioned human rights -- withthe chinese vice president xi. so i’m wondering if you have any information what issues wereraised?
mr. carney: i don't. i’m afraid i don'thave a detailed readout of that. but we’ll see if we can provide more details about that. q can i clarify one thing on the visit? idon't think we mentioned taiwan. was taiwan and -- mr. carney: again, i don't have a detailedreadout. i think all of the issues that are traditionally part of the discussion withchina are likely to have been raised, but i don't want to -- q will we get one? mr. carney: well, i’m sure we may have moreof a readout. i gave you some of it. we don't
tend to read out every topic of every conversationthat we have with foreign leaders, but we’ll see if we can get you more. q just two questions, jay. just two. mr. carney: i’m sorry. yes, sir. last one.this is a family -- this is -- we got to keep it clean here, yes. (laughter.) q keep it clean? now, wait a minute, whatdo we mean by that? q i know you don't have a readout, but isit fair to assume that the president conveyed that message in person that he agreed to thata veto by china on syria resolution at the united nations amounts to a license to kill?and do you buy into or accept the justification
by the chinese that the united nations orthe united nations security council should not be used to issue mandates to change regimes? mr. carney: well, our views on why that resolutionwas important -- and it was a negotiated resolution that we had hoped would garner support broadlyand would not be vetoed -- are well known. we’ve made that clear. again, i don't wantto give you an itemized list of topics that were discussed because i don't have that listto read from for you and i don't wan to say that something was discussed if i don't knowfor sure that it was. but i can tell you, broadly speaking, thatin our conversations with vice president xi and in our conversations with chinese leadersin general, we bring up all of these issues,
including our disappointment with the votein the united nations security council, including human rights and other issues, as well asour important cooperation on economic issues, on military-to-military relationships andthe whole range of matters between us. so, again, i don't have a specific, itemizedlist of the topics that were discussed in the oval office, but i can assure that, broadlyspeaking, we speak very candidly with the chinese. i think as the questioner earlierindicated, the vice president of the united states made that point in his remarks at thelunch today. so i think that is generally the case. q in terms of supreme court justices' security-- i thought someone else might ask, but we
didn't get a chance. after justice breyer,this is the third incident maybe in a decade -- not too recent -- but it was a pretty seriousincident. does the president have concerns about security? anything the white house islooking at? mr. carney: i’m not aware of anything thatthe white house might be looking at or the secret service. i mean, i would refer youto the security service for the supreme court. thank you all very much. q thank you.
