Although he came bearing a long shopping list that included Chinese support for tougher sanctions on Iran and more flexibility on currency exchange rates, Obama was met with polite, but stony, silences.

Not only did the president come away without any definable concessions, but the Chinese appeared to be digging in their heels.

On Tuesday, just hours after Obama stood side by side with President Hu Jintao in the Great Hall of the People, praising China's commitments to "move toward a more market-oriented exchange rate over time," a senior Chinese official called a news conference across town to issue a rebuttal.

"We maintained a stable yuan during the financial crisis, which not only helped the global economy but also the stability of the world's financial markets," said deputy foreign minister He Yafei, adding that it was too soon to talk about a change of strategy.

He also slapped down Obama's call for more internet freedom, saying that "we need to ensure that online communications do not affect our national security."

Perhaps most disappointing was China's failure to budge in its opposition to tougher sanctions on Iran. With China's extensive oil interests influencing its policies toward Teheran, the country increasingly is seen as an obstacle to reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions. Obama had hoped China would at least fall in step with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who publicly criticized Iran's intransigence during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit over the weekend in Singapore.

"I would not say that we got an answer today from the Chinese, nor did we expect one," said Jeffrey Bader, director of East Asia Affairs on the National Security Council, briefing US journalists after the meeting between the presidents. He conceded that the Chinese were less worried about Iran's nuclear program than North Korea's.

During the news conference at the Great Hall of the People, where the presidents each read statements outlining the highlights of the meetings as they perceived them, Hu conspicuously omitted mention of sanctions against Iran, acknowledging only that there were differences on some issues.

After the ritual handshake and posing for photographs, the leaders left the podium - refusing to answer questions from the media.

It was in keeping with the character of a presidential visit notable for its formality and lack of spontaneity. Every aspect of Obama's visit was carefully scripted, with the Chinese government taking pains to make sure nothing was left to chance. Obama did not meet with Chinese journalists, lawyers, human- rights advocates, environmentalists or any ordinary Chinese, and an expected meeting with Hu Shuli, who recently resigned as editor of China's leading business magazine, did not materialize.

During Obama's "town hall" meeting in Shanghai on Monday, the 50 students selected to attend were mostly officers of the Communist Youth League. Wary that Obama might say something provocative, the Chinese government refused White House requests that the event be broadcast live on nationwide television. Instead, it was broadcast only on Shanghai television.

Coverage of Obama's visit was also subdued, with noticeably fewer stories in the Chinese newspapers and shorter television reports than during other presidential visits.

Obama's limited results in part reflect the profound shift in US-Sino relations and global politics.

"It used to be the US could go around and say, `Do this and do that,' because they had so much leverage," said Dali Yang, director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Chicago. "Today, the US can't do that."

It was difficult to find anybody in Beijing who would express any real enthusiasm for Obama's visit. Even at a shop selling Obama souvenirs, the reaction was ho-hum. "Obama coming here doesn't have anything to do with us. He's the president of the United States. We're Chinese," said Yang Xiuying, a clerk at a Beijing crafts store selling dolls of Obama dressed as Superman.

Kenneth Lieberthal, a former Clinton administration official on China, said Obama hadn't had a chance to connect with the Chinese because both sides were being cautious.

"Not that there is Obamamania, but I think the Chinese have a relatively favorable impression of him," Lieberthal said. "But they are sitting back, like most Americans, waiting to see what he actually gets done."

For their part, White House officials took pains to deny that there were disappointments in the president's maiden visit to China.

"I did not expect ... that the waters would part and everything would change in the course of our almost 2 -day trip to China," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told a reporter who suggested Obama's reception was chilly.

LOS ANGELES TIMES