Obama says to keep pressing China on currency, intellectual property

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) speaks to the media in front of U.S. and Chinese national flags during a joint news conference with China's President Xi Jinping (R) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing November 12, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Lee

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will continue to press China on its currency, protection of intellectual property and state-owned businesses, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday ahead of bilateral trade talks next week.

"The key with China is to continue to simply press them on those areas where trade is imbalanced, whether it's on their currency practices, whether it's on IP (intellectual property) protection, whether it's on their state-owned enterprises," he said at a meeting of the President's Export Council.