* Obama will meet China's Hu in Seoul-White House
* Their seventh meeting a sign of big push to improve ties
* Obama to discuss economy, trade, security, human rights (Adds quotes, details, background)
By Alister Bull
WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao will discuss the global economy, trade, North Korea, Iran and human rights among other issues when they meet on Nov. 11 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Seoul, the White House said on Thursday.
The United States wants China to allow its yuan currency value to rise to aid U.S. exports, and this issue is expected to be a central part of the G20 summit of advanced and emerging economic powers in South Korea.
But the foreign exchange issue was only indirectly addressed during the briefing by Obama aides ahead of his 10-day trip to Asia early next month.
The meeting will be Obama's seventh with Hu, which the White House said was unprecedented for a U.S. leader and showed how much importance the administration placed on improving ties between the two powerful rivals.
"We expect this meeting to build on the cooperation that we've established in the 21 months since President Obama took office," White House senior director for Asian affairs Jeff Bader told reporters.
The White House said Hu would visit the United States early next year. The trip had been announced, but without specifics on timing.
Bader said China had been helpful in securing tough United Nations sanctions earlier this year against Iran over its nuclear program, which Washington and other western powers say is designed to acquire the ability to build a nuclear bomb - a charge Tehran rejects.
REALISTIC ASSESSMENT
"On China, since day one, we've had a clear-eyed and realistic assessment of what can be done in the China relationship," Bader said.
He said the U.S. strategy on China focused on broadening areas of cooperation, increasing stability in Asia and ensuring that China abide by international norms and laws.
In broadening cooperation, Bader cited Iran, as well as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, where China is set to gain more influence through reforms.
He said increasing stability in Asia was the reason for Obama visiting India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan during his trip, since all four are democracies with which Washington has a partnership or historic alliance.
Touring the four countries while skipping China, which Obama visited last year, reminds Beijing that the United States has strong friends in the region, analysts say.
On meeting international norms and laws, Bader cited the currency issue as well as the recent increase in tensions in the South China Sea.
"This relationship has never been an easy relationship, never been a relationship where everything has been on the positive side of the ledger," Bader said.
(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Vicki Allen)