Friday, April 21 2006 10:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: Opposing any unilateral change in the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, US President George W Bush yesterday (Apr 20, 2006) told his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to deepen cooperation in addressing threats to global security, including nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

"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," he said in his opening remarks at Hu's official welcome.

"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.

It is President Hu's first official visit to the US.

On the Taiwan issue, Bush said Washington maintains our one-China policy based on the three communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act. We oppose unilateral changes in the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by either side. We urge all parties to avoid confrontational or provocative acts.

"And we believe the future of Taiwan should be resolved peacefully," he added.

On a trade deficit of $ 202 billion with China, Bush said American exports to Beijing grew by more than 20 per cent last year and also made it known that the trade relationship will become stronger if China took certain steps.

"Our trade relationship can become even stronger as China adopts policies that allow US companies to compete in China with the same freedom that Chinese companies are able to compete here in the United States," the US President said.