Bush urges China to extend freedoms
US President George W. Bush today called on China to expand religious, political and social freedoms and urged steps to reduce Beijing’s huge trade surplus with the US.
President Hu Jintao promised steps to resolve economic frictions.
The two leaders conferred at the Great Hall of the People on the edge of Tiananmen Square, and Hu said they both sought an outcome of “mutual benefit and win-win results”.
There appeared to be no breakthroughs about US demands for currency reforms in China and no concrete announcement about how China would cut its trade surplus with the United States, on track to hit 200 billion US dollars this year.
China’s massive trade surplus is a political headache for Bush. As the president opened his visit, US officials spread word that Beijing was buying 70 of Chicago-based Boeing Co.’s 737 planes.
The administration said the purchase was “a testament to how our approach to China is yielding real results”.
But in a joint appearance with Hu, Bush said China needed to do more to provide fair opportunities for American farmers and businesses seeking access to China’s market.
He said China also needs to increase efforts to protect intellectual property rights. Piracy of US movies, computer programs and other copyrighted material is rampant in China.
Bush is pressing China to speed the revaluation of its currency, which US companies contend is undervalued by as much as 40%. That makes Chinese goods cheaper in the US and American goods more expensive in China.
Hu promised Bush that China will take steps to reduce its trade imbalance with the US but he did not discuss any specific steps.
He said China was willing to step up protection for intellectual property rights, and would “unswervingly” press ahead with currency reform – an area where the United States says Beijing has not lived up to its promise for improvement.
“The two sides also expressed their willingness to join hands together to gradually achieve a balance of trade between China and the US,” Hu said through a translator. “The frictions and problems that may arise in this rapid development of the two-way trade may be properly addressed through consultations.”
The two leaders met amid tensions over China’s rising economy and military might. They readily acknowledged differences but stressed areas of cooperation, from preventing and controlling bird flu to persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions in exchange for aid, diplomatic recognition and security guarantees.
“Our two nations seek a Korean Peninsula that is stable, at peace and free of nuclear weapons,” Bush said as he thanked China for leading the six-country talks about North Korea’s nuclear programme.
Bush noted that North Korea has pledged to abandon all nuclear weapons and all existing nuclear programs.
“The US expects them to honour that commitment,” Bush said.
Bush briefly mentioned US concerns about China’s growing thirst for oil - which has driven up petrol prices in the US.
“We had a good talk about energy,” Bush said. “China is a growing economy and China recognises, like the United States recognises, in order to keep our economies growing in the years to come, we’ve got to share technology and diversify away from hyrdocarbons.”
Bush said the relationship with China was important for the US and “this trip will make it stronger.”
He invited Hu to come to the US next year, to make-up for a visit that was postponed in September because of Hurricane Katrina. Hu accepted, and the official Xinhua News Agency said the Chinese president would make the trip early next year.
Bush’s first public event during his two-day state visit to China was a worship service at Gangwashi Church, one of five officially recognised Protestant churches in Beijing. It was Bush’s way of nudging Chinese leaders to expand religious freedom to the communist nation’s 1.3 billion people.
Later, standing alongside Hu, Bush said, “It is important that social, political and religious freedoms grow in China.”
“We encourage China to continue making a historic transition to greater freedom,” the president said.
