Obama invited Yang after the visiting foreign minister held talks Wednesday in Washington with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

With only a few weeks in office, Obama's meeting breaks standard protocol, which normally sees diplomatic meetings take place between representatives of similar rank. However it is not unprecedented, as Yang also met the previous president, George W. Bush.

The invitation came after the US House of Representatives nearly unanimously passed the resolution urging China to "cease its repression of the Tibetan people, and to lift immediately the harsh policies imposed on Tibetans."

The resolution passed amid a Chinese security crackdown in the Himalayan region during the anniversary of a failed uprising in Tibet that forced the Dalai Lama into exile.

Foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu in Beijing lashed out at the measure, which he said "disregards the facts (and) makes groundless accusations against China's ethnic and religious policy.

"The Chinese people and government express our strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to this. China has lodged solemn representations with the United States," he told reporters Thursday.

Clinton said she and Yang agreed to work to prevent a repeat of a Sunday standoff between a US Navy surveillance ship and Chinese patrol boats in the South China Sea.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters than Yang and Obama -- joined by US national security advisor James Jones -- would discuss the standoff, the global economic crisis and other issues at the White House meeting.

Yang came to Washington prepare with Clinton and Geithner for the April G20 summit of industrial and developing nations in London, where Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao are to meet for the first time.

The summit is tasked with coming up with ways to solve the international credit crunch.

Clinton said the two powers share "responsibility to help ensure the summit" produces concrete "steps toward a coordinated global response to stabilize the world economy and to begin a recovery."

In her February 21-22 visit to Beijing, Clinton called for a deeper partnership between the United States and China, saying they needed to tackle the economic crisis and climate change together.

The spat between Washington and Beijing heated up after the Pentagon said Chinese vessels harassed a US Navy ship in international waters in the South China Sea.

Beijing rejecting that account on Tuesday and demanded that Washington cease what it called illegal activities in the area.

Clinton said that after two hours of talks with Yang both sides agreed "that we must work hard in the future to avoid such incidents and to avoid this particular incident having consequences that are unforeseen."

Clinton also rejected charges that Obama was too soft on criticizing China's human rights record.

The Obama administration "is absolutely committed to a robust human rights agenda," Clinton said. "There's no doubt about our commitment."

But she vowed to "explore different ways" to fulfill the commitment as she stood by her previous approach to not let human rights concerns interfere with progress on the economy and other areas.

The White House and State Department on Tuesday voiced concern over rights in Tibet, though their statements were briefer and more mildly phrased than the House of Representatives resolution.

Clinton and Yang on Wednesday also discussed North Korean plans to launch a satellite, which Washington says amounts to test-firing a missile.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran's nuclear program and Darfur were also on the agenda of talks, she said.

One issue Obama may discuss with Yang is a possible Chinese complaint with the World Trade Organization over US legislation targeting Chinese poultry imports.

The complaint would be filed in response to the US spending bill that Obama signed on Wednesday which contains a clause opposing Chinese poultry imports.

"This is a typical discriminatory and trade protectionist move that seriously violates WTO regulations," read a statement by spokesman Yao Jian on the commerce ministry's website.

"China will file a complaint with the WTO and reserves the right to take further measures," Yao said, giving no further specifics.

China imported 580,000 tonnes of US chicken products in 2008, representing 73.4 percent of total chicken imports, Xinhua news agency reported citing Commerce ministry figures.

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