U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged a reluctant China to let its yuan currency rise in value at a summit where strains over trade between the two giants crept into proclamations of goodwill.

With the U.S. unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, one of Obama’s top priorities during his three-day trip to China is pressing Beijing over the huge trade imbalance between the two countries, a move he believes would pave the way for greater U.S. export opportunities.