    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 16, 2006]
    [Pages 1409-1411]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With President Hu Jintao of China in Strelna
    July 16, 2006

        President Bush. Mr. President, thank you for coming by to say hello.
    I remember fondly your visit to Washington, DC, a very successful trip
    to our Nation's Capital and other parts of our country. I want to thank
    you for the discussion we've had today.
        The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution
    dealing with the North Korean issue, and I want

    [[Page 1410]]

    to thank you for your leadership on that, Mr. President. We're working
    together on the Iranian issue. We talked about the Middle East. I want
    to thank you very much for our continued dialog on bilateral issues. We
    spent a lot of time on economics and trade.
        All in all, it's a continuation of the very good dialog we had
    during your trip to Washington, and I want to thank you for coming.
        President Hu. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very happy to have the
    opportunity to meet you here. As President Bush said just now, we had a
    very friendly and candid discussion. To start with the discussion, I
    expressed my heartfelt thanks to the American side for the warm
    reception afforded to me during my visit to the United States in April
    this year by President Bush, the American Government, and the American
    people.
        In addition, we also had an in-depth discussion on the China-U.S.
    relationship and major international issues of mutual interest. Both
    President Bush and I speak highly of the development of China-U.S.
    relationship as it is today. We also are happy to see that the agreement
    President Bush and I reached on comprehensively moving forward the
    constructive and cooperative China-U.S. relationship is being gradually
    implemented.
        We both agreed to continue to view and handle the China-U.S.
    relationship from a strategic plane--I mean, a long-term perspective. In
    addition, we also agreed to work hard to expand the convergent interests
    between the two countries and step up our pragmatic cooperation in the
    economic, trade, energy, science, technology, counterterrorism,
    nonproliferation, and the military fields.
        At the same time, we also believe that we need to respect and
    properly address each other's concerns and properly handle the sensitive
    issues in the bilateral relationship so that we can continue to move
    forward this relationship.
        We both believe that against the current backdrop of a complex and
    volatile international situation, to enhance the consultation and the
    coordination between China and the United States on major regional as
    well as international issues, serves the interests of both countries.
    This is also crucial to international peace and stability.
        Both sides expressed their commitment to maintain peace and
    stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia as a whole, and
    both sides agreed to continue their efforts to move forward the six-
    party talks so that at the end of the day, the entire Korean Peninsula
    could be denuclearized in a peaceful way through dialog and in
    negotiations.
        Both sides indicated their willingness to work together to continue
    to seek a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. We also
    discussed the situation in the Middle East.
        In this afternoon's discussion, we also spent quite a lot of time in
    an in-depth manner on our economic ties and trade and on the Taiwan
    question.
        I am satisfied with the discussion with President Bush. Thank you.
        President Bush. Thank you, Mr. President.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:53 p.m. in Cottage Nine at the
    Konstantinovsky Palace Complex. President Hu spoke in Chinese, and his
    remarks were translated by an interpreter.

    [[Page 1411]]