Mr Bush has said he wants to enjoy the Summer Olympics, but also will talk to President Hu Jintao about human rights and a host of other bilateral issues.

Before he arrived China's Foreign Ministry released a terse statement saying that no one should interfere with China's internal affairs.

Mr Bush plans to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics tomorrow and go to a series of sporting events up to Monday, including US basketball and baseball games against China.

Although he exhorted Beijing to improve human rights, Mr Bush, an avid sports fan and former part-owner of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers, has said he is intent on making his Olympics visit about sports, not politics.

In a speech outlining America's achievements and challenges in Asia yesterday, Mr Bush pushed for a free press, free assembly and workers' rights in China, and spoke out sharply against its detentions of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists.

He said he was not trying to antagonise China, but he upset the Chinese anyway, setting the stage for an interesting reception when he attends the opening ceremonies.

"The Chinese government puts people first, and is dedicated to maintaining and promoting its citizens basic rights and freedom," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said today in response to Mr Bush's speech. "Chinese citizens have freedom of religion. These are indisputable facts."

He said China advocated discussions on differing views on human rights and religions on "a basis of mutual respect and equality", then indicated it did not see Mr Bush's criticism in that light.

"We firmly oppose any words or acts that interfere in other countries' internal affairs, using human rights and religion and other issues," Qin said.

Mr Bush has been trying to walk a tightrope in attending the games, wanting to avoid causing Beijing embarrassment during its two weeks on the world stage while also coming under pressure to use his visit to openly press China's leaders for greater religious tolerance and other freedoms.

Chinese officials bristled when he met with Chinese activists at the White House last week.

Making the repression issue timely, China has rounded up opponents ahead of the Olympics and slapped restrictions on journalists, betraying promises made when it won the games.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd urged the international community "to speak with a strong and united voice" to maintain pressure on China over human rights. He conceded Beijing's record has improved, however.

"Remember, it was not all that long ago they were in the middle of the cultural revolution with people getting put up against a wall and basically knocked off," he said before flying to Beijing.

The White House's handling of the speech demonstrated the president's delicate balancing act.

Mr Bush's address containing the criticism of China was delivered outside the country, in Thailand. The White House took the unusual step of releasing the text of it even earlier, about 18 hours before he spoke.

The speech was followed by a string of events today, by both the president and his wife, that were clearly aimed at shifting the focus to the repressive military regime in Burma which marks the 20th anniversary of a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy activists tomorrow.