Bush raises Iran nuclear disputes with Hu

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush urged his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to use his "considerable influence" over North Korea and work with the United States to press Iran in two key nuclear proliferation disputes.

Hu responded before the start of a landmark White House summit that China was ready to work with Washington to achieve negotiated settlements to the twin crises.

Bush said after the talks that he had raised the possibility of the United Nations passing a motion against Iran under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter which could range from economic sanctions to military action.

Using the collective weight of the world superpower and the Asian giant on the international stage was to be one of the central themes of the talks as the Chinese leader made his first official visit to the White House.

"We intend to deepen our cooperation in addressing threats to global security, including the nuclear ambitions of Iran, the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, the violence unleashed by terrorists and extremists, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Bush said at the formal welcome for Hu.

"I'll continue to seek President Hu's advice and cooperation and urge his nation to use its considerable influence with North Korea to make meaningful progress toward a Korean Peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons," Bush said.

While China has expressed opposition to United Nations sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, and Sudan over the strife in Darfur, Hu said his country wanted to work with the United States.

"We are ready to continue to work with the US side and other parties concerned to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula and Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations," Hu said in his reply.

Stressing that China and the United States are countries of "significant influence in the world", he said China wanted "to uphold the international nonproliferation regime and to safeguard global peace and stability."

Bush raised a similar theme. "The United States welcomes the emergence of a China that is peaceful and prosperous and that supports international institutions," he said.

"As stakeholders in the international system, our two nations share many strategic interests. President Hu and I will discuss how to advance those interests and how China and the United States can cooperate responsibly with other nations to address common challenges."

Among key international issues, the two leaders are closest on North Korea, though efforts there have become deadlocked by Pyongyang's refusal to attend talks with China, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

Before highlighting the role China could play, Bush signalled the international frustration at the deadlock.

"I appreciate China's role as the host of the six-party talks, which will be successful only if North Korea makes the right strategic decision: to abandon all its nuclear weapons and its existing nuclear programmes as pledged to the other five parties."

Deputy US Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said Monday that China, which has mediated the talks since 2003, needs to be "more than a mediator."

But China hit back at what was seen as US criticism that it should be more assertive in the talks.

"Either within the framework of the six-party talks or outside, on various occasions, we made active efforts to push forward the process and strive for positive progress," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

"Our active efforts have been recognized by all the parties concerned," he told a regular press conference.