WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US President Barack Obama urged China to peacefully resolve its maritime disputes with neighboring countries and to maintain freedom of navigation in the region, a reference to the ongoing dispute in the South China Sea, the White House said in a statement on Friday (April 1).

In talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping alongside the Nuclear Security Summit on Thursday, Obama discussed US support for human rights in China and called for the ability of companies to be able to compete fairly in China, it said.