What are the best ways for a Chinese National living in China to obtain a
tourist visa to visit the United States for 2 weeks?

There are a number of constraints that the visitor will need to meet in order 
to obtain a temporary visa to visit the United States. Details are given at the 
US State Department's website on U.S. Visas 
http://travel.state.gov/visa;visitors.html

Please note that the US State Department may change the requirements for 
aquiring a temporary visa and it is always a good idea to check with the 
American Embassy or Consulate nearest to place of permanent residence.

Currently the requirements are as follow (as detailed by 
http://travel.state.gov/visa;visitors.html)

The visitor would want to obtain a B-2 visa since the trip is for pleasure.

"Applicants for visitor visas should generally apply at the American Embassy or 
Consulate with jurisdiction over their place of permanent residence. Although 
visa applicants may apply at any U.S. consular office abroad, it may be more 
difficult to qualify for the visa outside the country of permanent residence.

Each applicant for a visitor visa must pay a nonrefundable US$45 application 
fee and submit: 

1) An application Form DS-156 (http://travel.state.gov/DS-0156.pdf), completed 
and signed. Blank forms are available without charge at all U.S. consular 
offices; 

2) A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at 
least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United 
States. If more than one person is included in the passport, each person 
desiring a visa must make an application;

3) Two photographs 1 and 1/2 inches square (37x37 mm) for each applicant, 
showing full face, without head covering, against a light background.


Applicants must demonstrate that they are properly classifiable as visitors 
under U.S. law. Evidence which shows the purpose of the trip, intent to depart 
the United States, and arrangements made to cover the costs of the trip may be 
provided. It is impossible to specify the exact form the evidence should take 
since applicants' circumstances vary greatly. 

Persons traveling to the U.S. for pleasure may use letters from relatives or 
friends in the U.S. whom the applicant plans to visit or confirmation of 
participation in a planned tour."

Form DS-156 can be found at http://travel.state.gov/DS-0156.pdf

Thanks, that helps a lot.

You should note that different consulates within China can give different 
responses, and that applications for any visa by a Chinese national are 
often turned down with no explanation - this includes things that you 
would assume were no-brainers, such as student visas for students with 
full scholarships (this is also true of visa applications by any foreign 
national).  Generally speaking, you need to convince the consulate that 
you have no intention of immigrating - good ways to do this are to 
document children or a spouse who are remaining outside of the US, 
ongoing education, or ongoing employment outside of the US.