Bush claims good enough relationship with China
U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday that he has a good enough relationship with Chinese leaders to talk about any differences between them.
In in an interview with Fox News Channel''s Neil Cavuto, Bush also suggested he''d like to see China move more aggressively to push North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programs.
Six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia - aimed at halting the North''s nuclear pursuits - have been dormant for a year. On Tuesday, the United States said North Korea had agreed to return to the negotiations.
Bush sidestepped a question about the flap with China sparked when U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, while in Asia, alleged China, the world’s fastest growing economy, for increasing spending on military buildup despite the “absence of a threat ” from another country.
"It is a complex relationship," said Bush, who then vacillated on whether he trusts China, according to the Associated Press.
"So far, I do," he said. "We''ll see. ... Time will tell."
Bush also said he expected Beijing to implement currency reforms, as support increased in the US Congress for legislation to force China to revalue its yuan or face higher tariffs on Chinese imports.