President Bush visited China today hoping for a deal to curb its arms sales exactly 30 years after a landmark trip by former president Richard Nixon.
Mr Bush met Chinese President Mr Jiang Zemin to start two days of talks that are expected to be cordial despite US demands that China stop exporting missile technology to nations Mr Bush has called "an axis of evil".
|
|
President George W. Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin heading into talks.
|
Mr Bush, visting China for the second time in four months, is on the final leg of three-nation tour that has taken him to Japan and South Korea.
Masking sharp differences on proliferation, Taiwan, human rights and missile defence, Beijing and Washington have stressed bilateral ties are on the mend since China declared its support for the US-led war on terrorism.
The White House underscored this by saying Mr Bush planned to invite Mr Jiang to visit the United States later this year.
But it also said Mr Bush hoped to conclude a deal today for China to adhere to the terms of a November 2000 agreement restricting exports of ballistic missile technology.
Mr Bush is also expected to raise concerns about religious freedom, especially persecution of Christians who worship outside the state-backed church, and urge Beijing to adhere to the terms of its entry into the World Trade Organization.
China is deeply worried about US arms sales to Taiwan and the US military presence in Central Asia, but is anxious to smooth ties with its second-biggest trading partner and a key source of investment in the sensitive run-up to a leadership handover this autumn, analysts said.