U.S. President Barack Obama met his Chinese counterpart Monday for talks to focus on North Korea’s upcoming rocket launch, a day after a blunt appeal to Beijing to get tougher with Pyongyang.

Obama and President Hu Jintao held talks before the start of a nuclear terrorism summit in South Korea which has been overshadowed by the North’s planned launch in mid-April.

Obama told Hu in introductory remarks the situation in North Korea and Iran is “of great importance to us,” and that China and the United States have a common interest in nuclear non-proliferation.

The nuclear-armed North says its launch will only put a satellite into orbit for peaceful purposes.

The United States and its allies say it will be staging a missile test in violation of U.N. resolutions. They also suspect that Iran‘s uranium enrichment program is geared toward making a nuclear bomb.

The U.S. leader said he and Hu also need to discuss Sudan and other political issues, as well as the potential benefits of bilateral trade “in accordance with international rules and norms.”

The longstanding dispute over China’s currency, which Washington says is kept artificially low to boost exports, could flare up again as Obama seeks re-election in November.

In their 11th meeting the two leaders were attempting to keep ties stable despite domestic political turbulence in both nations, but North Korea and trade differences were exerting a strain.

Obama made clear in unusually direct language on Sunday that he did not believe China’s approach to its wayward neighbor and ally was bearing fruit. He suggested it was time for a change.

It was not working for China to turn “a blind eye to deliberate provocations, trying to paper over these not just provocative words but extraordinarily provocative acts that violate international norms,” Obama said.

How China communicated its concerns to North Korea “should probably reflect the fact that the approach they’ve taken over the last several decades hasn‘t led to a fundamental shift in North Korea’s behavior,” he said.

Washington has frequently called on Beijing to rein in Pyongyang. China is the North’s sole major ally and its biggest trade partner and aid provider.

Hu and Obama are increasingly preoccupied by domestic political calendars -- with a new generation of leaders poised to assume power in China and Obama’s quickening re-election bid at home.

Obama must watch his flank as his likely Republican foe Mitt Romney lacerates his policy towards Beijing, seeking to exploit a perception among blue-collar voters that unfair Chinese trade practices are costing U.S. jobs.

Hu entered the Obama meeting against a backdrop of intrigue ahead of the 18th Communist Party Congress later this year, expected to enshrine Xi Jinping as China’s next leader.

Their meeting came after China’s Communist Party leadership was rocked by a rare scandal. Bo Xilai, leader of the Chongqing metropolis, was sacked after a key aide reportedly tried to defect to the United States. (AFP)