Bush, Hu find no breakthroughs on trade, Iran

UNITED STATES: President George W. Bush failed to win a commitment from Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday on immediate steps to reduce China's $202 billion trade surplus with the United States.

Hu did give Bush a general assurance he was working to make the Chinese currency more "flexible" but this fell far short of U.S. demands for a dramatic revaluation of the yuan as a way to make U.S. products more competitive in Chinese and global markets and reduce the trade imbalance.

The two leaders also failed to bridge differences over how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions. Bush wants China to agree to tougher U.N. Security Council action, but his arguments did not persuade Hu.

Speaking in the Oval Office, the two leaders said their bilateral relationship had matured and they could discuss differences openly. "He tells me what he thinks, and I tell him what I think, and we do so with respect," Bush said.

On a long-awaited visit to the White House, Hu received the 21-gun salute and full military honors the Chinese had coveted as a sign of respect.

But in an embarrassing episode that marred the South Lawn ceremony and created a diplomatic stir, a Chinese woman on a press camera platform heckled Hu just as he began speaking.

"President Hu, your days are numbered. President Bush, make him stop persecuting Falun Gong," she yelled, referring to the spiritual meditation movement that is banned in China.

She was led away by a Secret Service uniformed guard for questioning, and was later identified as Wang Wenyi, 47, a reporter for The Epoch Times, a New York-based newspaper that supports the Falun Gong.

Bush personally apologized to Hu for the incident. "I'm sorry this happened," he told Hu, according to Dennis Wilder, Asia expert on the National Security Council.

The Secret Service planned to charge her with disorderly conduct and was weighing more serious federal charges that she intimidated or disrupted a foreign official.

Meanwhile Chinese President Hu Jintao made sure that Taiwan was near the top of the agenda during his summit with U.S. President George W. Bush, and received reassurance from the U.S. leader that the United States does not support Taiwan's independence.

But Bush was also diplomatic about the self-governing island, urging both sides to avoid confrontation: "We believe the future of Taiwan should be resolved peacefully," he said Thursday.

In his public remarks, Hu referred repeatedly to Taiwan, telling reporters that while China will strive for peace with the island, "we will never allow anyone to make Taiwan secede from China by any means."

Hu made clear that in his private talks with Bush he "stressed the importance of the Taiwan question ... President Bush gave us his understanding on the Chinese concerns."

WASHINGTON, Friday Reuters, AP