Trade tops agenda at summit of Bush, Hu

The leader of China wants to show he has earned respect in the United States.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A 21-gun salute, fancy lunch and some bluegrass music await Chinese President Hu Jintao at the White House. Once the pomp is over, President Bush faces the difficult task of narrowing major trade differences with Hu and gaining Beijing's help in thwarting the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.
Thursday's summit at the White House carries high stakes after four previous meetings between Bush and Hu in the last year produced few concrete results.
Hu, looking for a second term as Communist Party chief next year amid enormous social problems, wants to show that Beijing under his leadership earns respect abroad and is avoiding conflict with the world's only superpower. On a four-day U.S. visit that will have him mingling with corporate giants, Washington's power establishment and academic elites, Hu also hopes to dispel any notion in the United States that China is an ascending power to be feared.
At stake for Bush
With the U.S. trade deficit with China hitting a record $202 billion last year, Bush may have even more on the line. The president hopes to wring from Hu some indication that China will address the trade gap -- primarily by speeding up its promised currency revaluation-- and prevent an increasingly impatient Congress from pursuing trade restrictions at a time when China's stepped-up involvement in the Iran and North Korea nuclear standoffs is crucial.
"They'll look for the 'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval' -- that China is not a threat. ... That will matter a lot to China," said Michael Green, until recently the Asia director on Bush's National Security Council. "We on the U.S. side don't want to give China a free pass, a 'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval,' without some change in behavior."
The White House has tried to dampen expectations. Formal signings by Bush and Hu were anticipated only for renewals of existing education and science agreements aimed at increasing U.S.-Chinese ties. The administration also does not expect major concessions from the Chinese on currency reforms.
Still, the summit's importance has been clear. The White House hosted a preview briefing for reporters of the kind more commonly held before Bush's major foreign travels. And barely a day has gone by in the past week without the White House -- or even Bush himself -- talking publicly about the meetings.
"It's a very important visit," Bush offered, unprompted, on Tuesday during an education event in Rockville, Md.
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