There's room for both of us: Obama

Barack Obama was in typical eloquent form Monday for a signature "town hall meeting" with a difference.

While the relaxed style and well-constructed answers were characteristic of the United States president, the fact that he was speaking to around 500 elite Chinese students, possibly the leaders of tomorrow, made the 75-minute session in Shanghai an impressive occasion.

Obama used the platform to talk about a wide range of issues, including the improving relationship between the US and China and the strengthening of cross-Straits relations.

The meeting was heralded as one of the most important events on Obama's weeklong trip to Asia.

Barack Obama was in typical eloquent form Monday for a signature "town hall meeting" with a difference.

The president fielded eight questions - half from audience members and half from among those submitted over the Internet - during the casual and free-spirited event. Students smiled and applauded politely when Obama answered questions and chuckled appreciatively when he tried speaking Chinese.

"We do not seek to contain China's rise," Obama said during his opening remarks.

He assured his young audience the US and China were not "predestined adversaries".

One country's success need not come at the expense of another, he said.

"On the contrary, we welcome China as a strong and prosperous and successful member of the community of nations, a China that draws on the rights, strengths and creativity of individual Chinese like you," Obama said.