September 06, 2007
Bush And Hu Discuss Contentious Issues In Sydney
President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao met Thursday to discuss a range of contentious topics on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific summit in Sydney, Australia. The leaders reported a "friendly atmosphere" during the bilateral talks, but Bush admitted Wednesday that "our relationship with China is complex." If anything, it has become even more so in recent months, as China has come under intense international criticism for its failure to implement promised changes ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, to be held in Beijing.
Australian President John Howard has made climate change the focus on this year's APEC summit, and on Thursday Bush and Hu expressed their shared view that global warming has the potential to affect the entire world community.
The Bush administration refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the most significant international climate change agreement to date, in part because the treaty did not hold developing countries China and India to the same standards as the U.S. and European nations. President Bush has expressed willingness in Sydney to move forward on an APEC pact that would reduce fossil fuel emissions, but only if China is ready to do its part as well. Hu told reporters that "this issue should be ... tackled through a stronger international cooperation."
Trade issues have been at the center of the censure of China this year. Numerous recalls of tainted food and consumer products manufactured in the country have outraged the American public. And, financial analysts and politicians have raised complaints that the yuan is undervalued, giving the Chinese an unfair advantage in international trading.
Hu acknowledged the breakdown in product safety standards, but assured President Bush that only a small number of China's factories were responsible for the tainted goods. He said the government is taking the issue very seriously and has set up a new oversight agency to ensure that those responsible for breaking the rules are held accountable. President Bush told reporters that Hu "was quite articulate about product safety and I appreciated his comments."
Bush also told the Chinese president that he believes the yuan should be more responsive to market forces. Hu promised to continue reform of his country's currency, but did not make any specific pledges regarding its value.
China has been lambasted for a variety of alleged human rights abuses, including suppression of dissidents and religious minorities within the country, occupation of Tibet and continued cooperation with the government of Sudan, despite the genocide taking place in Darfur. Bush was eager to address these topics with President Hu, as well as his hopes that China will take more aggressive action to help keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Concerns over China's recent record on climate change, trade and human rights has led some in Congress to suggest a boycott of the Olympics. However, Bush eagerly accepted an invitation from Hu to attend the games with his family.
The two leaders were all smiles in front of the cameras in Sydney, but tensions linger. Check out The Gate's earlier post on "Chinaphobia" in the U.S. and the International Herald Tribune's report on the Chinese military allegedly hacking into the computer systems of Western governments.
Posted at 11:54 AM
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Asia, China, Climate Change, Olympics, President Bush
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