[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 16 (Monday, April 24, 2006)]
[Pages 741-745]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With President Hu Jintao of China and an 
Exchange With Reporters

April 20, 2006

    President Bush. The President and I will make opening statements. 
We'll be glad to answer two questions from each side.
    Mr. President, welcome. We've just had yet another constructive 
dialog. I enjoy my visits with President Hu. He tells me what

[[Page 742]]

he thinks, and I tell him what I think, and we do so with respect.
    China has important relations with the United States. We obviously 
have commercial relations that are important. We're working on issues 
like Iran and Sudan. We've got a mutual interest in seeing that the 
Korean Peninsula is nuclear weapons-free. We spent time talking about 
Taiwan, and I assured the President my position has not changed. I do 
not support independence for Taiwan.
    We don't agree on everything, but we're able to discuss our 
disagreements in a spirit of friendship and cooperation. So it's a very 
important relationship.
    And, Mr. President, thank you for your frankness and for our 
discussions.
    President Hu. To begin with, I would like to thank President Bush 
for his kind invitation and the generous hospitality accorded to me. And 
just now I had a pragmatic and constructive dialog with President Bush, 
and during that meeting, President Bush and I had in-depth exchange of 
views on the China-U.S. relationship and major regional, as well as 
international, issues of mutual interest.
    We have reached important agreement at the meeting. We both agreed 
that under the new circumstances, given the international situation 
here, that China and the United States share extensive, common strategic 
interests and there is a broad prospect for the mutually beneficial 
cooperation between the two countries. A good China-U.S. relationship is 
of strategic significance to the maintenance and promotion of peace, 
stability, and development in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world 
at large.
    We both agreed to view and address the bilateral relationship from a 
strategic and long-term perspective, and we both agreed to 
comprehensively move forward the constructive and cooperative China-U.S. 
relationship in the 21st century, to the benefits of the Chinese and 
American peoples and peoples around the world.
    And during the meeting, I stressed the importance of the Taiwan 
question to Mr. President. Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese 
territory, and we maintain consistently that under the basis of the 
``one China'' principle, we are committed to safeguard peace and 
stability in the Taiwan Straits, and to the promotion of the improvement 
and development of the cross-straits relations. We have the utmost 
sincerity, and we will do this to our utmost, with all sincerity, to 
strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification. This being said, we 
will by no means allow Taiwan independence.

    President Bush gave us his understanding of the Chinese concerns. He 
reiterated the American positions and said that he does not hope that 
the moves taken by the Taiwan authorities to change the status quo will 
upset the China-U.S. relationship, which I highly appreciate.

    We both agreed to work together to promote the development of the 
economic ties and trade between the two countries on basis of a mutual 
benefit in seeking win-win outcomes. As for the differences, or even 
frictions between the two countries in this regard, we both believe that 
they may be properly resolved through consultations on an equal footing. 
Both Mr. President and I spoke highly of the outcomes from the 17th JCCT 
meeting which was held not long ago.

    President Bush and I also agreed that the two countries need to 
further increase their exchanges and cooperation in the military, law 
enforcement, science and technology, culture, education, and other 
fields. We also both agreed to further step up our dialog and 
cooperation in such fields as counterterrorism, nonproliferation, the 
prevention and control of the avian influenza, energy, environmental 
protection, disaster prevention and relief, and other major issues.

    Both sides agreed to continue their efforts to facilitate the six-
party talks to seek a proper solution to the Korean nuclear issue, and 
both sides agree to continue their efforts to seek a peaceful resolution 
of the Iranian nuclear issue.

    I assured Mr. President that China is willing to work together with 
the United States and other countries in the world in a joint endeavor 
to build a harmonious world featuring enduring peace and shared 
prosperity.

    President Bush. Jennifer [Jennifer Loven, Associated Press].

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Chinese Currency/Democracy in China

    Q. Thank you, sir. President Hu, when will China become a democracy 
with free elections? And President Bush, why have you not been able to 
persuade China to more quickly revalue its currency?
    President Bush. Last July, the Chinese made a major decision on 
their currency. There's been some appreciation in the currency. We would 
hope there would be more appreciation in the currency.
    Q. President Hu?
    President Hu. I don't know--what do you mean by a democracy? What I 
can tell you is that we've always believed in China that if there is no 
democracy, there will be no modernization, which means that ever since 
China's reform and opening up in the late 1970s, China, on the one hand, 
has vigorously promoted economic reforms, and on the other, China has 
also been actively, properly, and appropriately moved forward the 
political restructuring process, and we have always been expanding the 
democracy and freedoms for the Chinese citizens.
    In the future, we will, in the light of China's own national 
conditions and the will of the Chinese people, continue to move ahead 
the political restructuring and to develop a socialist democracy, and we 
will further expand the orderly participation of the Chinese citizens in 
political affairs so that the Chinese citizens will be in a better 
position to exercise their democratic rights in terms of democratic 
supervision, democratic management, and democratic decisionmaking.
    President Bush. Do you want to call on somebody from the Chinese 
side?

China-U.S. Relations/Trade

    Q. I have a question for President Hu Jintao. And how do you view 
the problems and disputes between China and the United States in the 
field of economic ties and trade? And in your view, what kind of 
measures shall we take to properly resolve these issues?
    President Hu. The economic ties and trade between China and the 
United States are an important component--the China-U.S. relationship as 
a whole. And in this economic ties and trade, I think that mutually 
beneficial cooperation and win-win outcomes represent the mainstream.
    Although the two countries do have different opinions or sometimes 
even frictions in this relationship, what has happened has proven that 
all these issues or differences can be properly resolved through 
consultations on a equal footing and further expansion of the mutually 
beneficial cooperation.
    We understand the American concerns over the trade imbalances, the 
protection of the intellectual property rights, and market access. We 
have taken measures, and we'll continue to take steps to properly 
resolve the issues.
    China pursues a policy of boosting domestic demand, which means that 
we'll mainly rely on domestic demand expansion to further promote the 
economic growth of the country. We do not pursue a excessively high 
trade surplus.
    We have already launched the reform of the RMB Chinese currency 
exchange rate regime, which has paid off initially. And in the future, 
we'll continue to make efforts to improve the RMB exchange rate regime.
    We'll continue to expand the market access and increase the import 
of American products. As a matter of fact, lately, a delegation composed 
of Chinese businesspeople have been to the United States, and during 
their trip, they have totally signed 107 commercial contracts or 
agreements with a total value of over 16.2 billion U.S. dollars.
    The U.S. technology products export to China, particularly in the 
field of the export of high-tech products, are quite incompatible with 
the economic might of the United States. I hope that the United States 
Government will be able to relax or ease the restrictions imposed on its 
export, particularly high-tech export to China. And we also hope that 
the U.S. Government will be able to create a level playing field for 
Chinese businesses who want to enter the American market. And this will 
certainly help bring down the trade deficit of the United States. And 
this will also contribute to the further sound and stable growth of the 
trading ties and economic cooperation between the two countries.
    President Bush. Let me say something on this. First of all, it was a 
very comprehensive answer, and I appreciate that, Mr. President. I am 
heartened by the President's answer because he recognizes that a trade 
deficit with

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the United States as substantial as it is, is unsustainable.
    I appreciate his statement very much, because the American people--
all we want to do is be treated fairly in the international marketplace. 
He's used the word ``win-win,'' and that's a very important concept when 
it comes to economics that are mutually beneficial. Market access is 
very important, and I appreciate your commitment to that, Mr. President.
    What also is very much important is that for the--as the Chinese 
society evolves, that it becomes an economy that is not export-driven 
but consumer-driven. I appreciate the Government's commitment to that 
evolution, because as there's more consumers and market access, it will 
mean that U.S. small businesses and businesses and farmers will have a 
chance to be able to find new markets. Obviously, the Chinese Government 
takes the currency issue seriously, and so do I. And finally, I want to 
remind our citizens, as the President said earlier, exports to China are 
up by 21 percent. And that means jobs.
    And so we're going to continue to work on this very important 
relationship to make sure the playing field is level.
    Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

Iran/North Korea

    Q. Thank you. President Bush, have you presented President Hu to go 
along with tougher actions against Iran, if necessary, such as 
sanctions? And President Hu, is there more you can do to influence North 
Korea to give up nuclear weapons?
    President Bush. The first goal of any dialog with a partner with 
whom we're trying to create peace is to have a common objective, a 
stated goal. And we have a common goal, and that is that Iran should not 
have the nuclear weapon, the capacity to make a nuclear weapon, or the 
know-how to how to make a nuclear weapon.
    And the second goal is to be in a position where we can work on 
tactics. And one of the tactics that I've been talking to the President 
about is the use of the United Nations Security Council Chapter VII to 
send a common message to the Iranians that China and the United States 
and EU-3 countries, all deeply are concerned about the Iranian ambition.
    China is an important voice in international affairs. And I will 
continue to work with the President to strategize as to how best to 
achieve our important goal, which is a--an Iran without the capacity, 
the know-how, or a nuclear weapon.
    President Hu. As our friends may know, that the nuclear issue on the 
Korean Peninsula, China has always been persuading the parties for their 
reconciliation and promote the talks for peaceful solution. And we have 
always been making constructive efforts to denuclearize the Korean 
Peninsula.
    It is exactly thanks to the concerted efforts of the parties 
involved that in September last year, the six parties had their fourth-
round talks and successfully concluded a joint statement as a initial 
result, which has not come easily.
    The six-party talks have run into some difficulties at the moment. I 
hope that the parties will be able to further display flexibility, work 
together, and create necessary conditions for the early resumption of 
the talks.

China-U.S. Cultural Exchanges

    Q. Mr. President, good morning. I would like to know, what is on 
your mind and what kind of things you can do to facilitate the people-
to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries?
    President Bush. I remember giving--well, the first graduation speech 
I ever gave as President was to Notre Dame. And I was--I distinctly 
remember the--a number of Chinese students that were there who had 
gotten advanced degrees. And it's a vivid reminder that one of the best 
ways for there to be exchange is for there to be exchange of students. I 
think the more U.S. students who study in China, and the more Chinese 
students who study in the United States will lead to lasting 
understanding, which is very important for future relations.
    Obviously, there will be exchanges in the arts. There's a great 
interest in the United States about the Chinese arts and the history of 
Chinese arts. There's going to be sports exchanges. Yao Ming, I mean, 
he's a perpetual exchange. He's a great player, and he's here all the 
time. The Olympics will bring

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a great opportunity for us to have interchange. There's all kinds of 
ways for the United States and Chinese people to get to know each other, 
and I look forward to encouraging those kind of avenues of dialog. 
Presidents can talk, but sometimes the best way to have lasting 
friendship is for there to be a lot of people-to-people exchanges.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 11:16 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Yao Ming, center, National 
Basketball Association's Houston Rockets. President Hu and two reporters 
spoke in Chinese, and their remarks were translated by an interpreter.