BEIJING — President Bush secured assurances today that China would move to reduce its huge trade surplus with the United States and "step up" protections for intellectual property rights.
Chinese President Hu Jintao made the commitments during an appearance with Bush after the two held a lengthy meeting at the Great Hall of the People across from Tiananmen Square.
Although Hu acknowledged that there were "frictions" that needed to be addressed, no proposals were announced and the two leaders took no questions.
The presidents met days after Bush delivered a speech in Japan urging China to hasten political reform and expand religious freedom.
Hu said after the meeting that China's commitment to "peaceful development," his phrase for slow but steady reform, was a "choice that China must make in light of its national conditions ... and also a choice that China must make in light of the current trend in the development of the world."
But, despite criticisms that his government still holds political prisoners and limits religious freedom, Hu insisted that much had been accomplished.
"The Chinese people are exercising their right of democratic elections, democratic decision-making, democratic management and democratic supervision, according to law," he said.
Speaking later, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was skeptical about Hu's comments.
Highlighting the issue of religious freedom, Bush earlier attended a state-approved Protestant church in the capital, then quickly shifted to the primary focus of his two-day stay, meeting privately with Hu to discuss trade, North Korea and efforts to prevent a bird flu pandemic.
He also was scheduled to ride his mountain bike with Chinese athletes. The event, intended to promote China's status as the host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, was expected to receive widespread coverage by the state-run media.
Bush arrived as administration officials hailed China's decision to buy 70 new 737 aircraft from Chicago-based Boeing Co. as a "testament to how our approach to China is yielding real results." Signaling his chief interest here, Bush focused entirely on business and trade issues when he taped his weekly radio address in Beijing.
He did not mention the human rights concerns that made headlines in his speech Wednesday from Kyoto, Japan. His praise of rival Taiwan in the speech as a model for broader democratic reforms in the mainland drew protests from Chinese government officials.
