“Our primary message has been to make sure that violence is avoided as the people of Hong Kong try to sort through what the next phase is of their relationship to the mainland,” Obama said in response to a question during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the U.S. Embassy here. It was the first time he’s publicly spoken on the issue.

“There are certain things that the United States believes. We believe in freedom of speech. We believe in freedom of association. We believe in openness in government as befitting our traditions and our way of life,” Obama declared.

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“I think it would be unrealistic to expect that we set those concerns aside,” he continued. “People have aspirations for freedom and dignity in countries all around the globe.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed support Sunday for measures Hong Kong authorities have taken to restore what state-run media called “the rule of law” in the face of the the protests. The reports said Xi made the comments at a meeting with Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung.

Obama, who’s set to hold a series of meetings with Xi in Beijing Tuesday and Wednesday, did not respond directly when asked if he agreed with Xi’s endorsement of the actions Hong Kong officials have taken to combat the protests. Police have used arrests to clear streets of student protesters and have stood by as men believed to be affiliated with the central government assaulted protesters and ransacked their encampments.

The president didn’t address the specifics of protesters’ demands that Hong Kong voters be able to elect candidates of their choice rather than picking from a list vetted by Beijing.

Instead, Obama coupled many of his remarks about the protests with caveats about the challenges China faces.

“We don’t expect China to follow an American model in every instance, but we’re going to continue to have concerns about human rights. Obviously, the situation between China and Hong Kong is historically complicated and is in the process of transition,” the president said.

Obama also suggested that the U.S. sometimes has to temper its expectations, even as it pushes China to do more to respect human rights.

“We’re not going to stop speaking out on behalf of the things that we care about, recognizing that we also have significant interest in business to do with China, and recognizing that China is not at the same place in terms of their development, both politically and economically, as we are today,” the president added.

The pro-democracy demonstrations, which began in September and drew tens of thousands of people, have since dwindled in size to a few hundreds students and others. But polls continue to show widespread support in Hong Kong for allowing citizens there to elect their own leaders without interference from Beijing.

While Chinese leaders sometimes rail against outsiders for trying to impose Western values on China, Obama argued Monday that the appeal of ideas like freedom of speech and of assembly is universal.

While Obama said little Monday about the substance of the protesters’ complaints, the White House said in a statement in September that the U.S. wants China to respect the democratic process in Hong Kong.

“We believe that the legitimacy of the Chief Executive will be greatly enhanced if the Basic Law’s ultimate aim of selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage is fulfilled and if the election provides the people of Hong Kong a genuine choice of candidates representative of the voters’ will,” said the statement, issued in response to a petition which gathered more than 197,000 signatures on the White House website.