U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping has consolidated power more quickly than any Chinese leader in decades, raising concerns over human rights and worrying China's neighbors.

Obama, who met Xi last month in Beijing, told the Business Roundtable group of top U.S. chief executives that Xi has won respect in the short time since he took over.

"He has consolidated power faster and more comprehensively than probably anybody since Deng Xiaoping," Obama said, referring to the man who led China from 1978 to 1992. "And everybody's been impressed by his . . . clout inside of China after only a year and a half or two years."