President to Meet Astronauts, Chinese Officials

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama meets Monday behind closed doors with top officials at high-level talks between the U.S. and China.

The evening meeting at the White House will include Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (WANG chii-shan) and State Councilor Dai Bingguo (DIE-bing-go). The gathering will cap a day of talks at the State Department, the Department of the Interior and the Treasury Department. The talks conclude Tuesday.

The annual meetings have been broadened this year to cover foreign policy.

Earlier in the day, the president will meet with the crew of the space shuttle Discovery, which returned from its final mission in March.