Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet some of his sternest critics in the US Congress today on the third day of a state visit to the US.
President Hu is to meet with leaders of Congress before travelling on to Chicago this evening.
Members of Congress have frequently attacked China's rights record and economic policy, as well as criticising its role in nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea.
Historically high US unemployment and an unpopular decade-long Afghan war, coupled with China's economic and military rise, have fed a narrative of US decline and fuelled resentments of Beijing among the US public.
US President Barack Obama's remarks pressing President Hu to embrace 'universal rights' and pushing Beijing to set a 'level-playing field' for US firms in China and battle intellectual piracy are unlikely to soothe congressional anger.
The visiting Chinese leader is to sit down separately with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Both men declined Mr Obama's invitation to attend a formal gala dinner in Mr Hu's honour at the White House last night.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also declined to attend the dinner and plans to be in his home state of Kentucky today.
During a press conference yesterday Mr Hu admitted that 'a lot' remained to be done on freedoms in China, but he did not share Mr Obama's definition of universal human rights.
He said China had made 'enormous progress' on human rights, but argued his was a vast nation with many social and economic development problems.
'We do believe that we also need to take into account the different national circumstances when it comes to the universal value of human rights,' he said, but admitted 'a lot needs to be done in China in terms of human rights'.
