President Bush said Thursday that he has accepted an invitation from President Hu Jintao of China to attend the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, a move that is likely to inflame China’s critics, who are calling for a boycott of the games to protest human-rights abuses in that country.
Hu extended the invitation — reiterating an offer he has made before — during a 90-minute private session with Bush here on the eve of an economic summit meeting of Asian nations. Their talk touched on a range of topics, from climate change to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the recall of Chinese-made toys.
“It was a constructive and cordial conversation,” the president said afterward. “And once again he extended an invitation to me and Laura and our family to come to the Olympics. And of course, I was anxious to accept.”
Bush had told aides privately that he would like to attend the 2008 Games, but Thursday was the first time he said so publicly. Aides said the president would attend as a sports fan and not to make any political statement.
But at a time when relations between the United States and China are delicate, the move carries great symbolic significance, said Michael Green, an Asia expert and former Asia director at the National Security Council under Bush.
“For the Chinese, that’s a public vote of confidence that President Hu and the Chinese people will undoubtedly appreciate,” Green said.
He said that because China worries about criticism of its human-rights policies, Bush’s decision to attend the Games “in subtle ways raises pressure on the Chinese to perform.”
The president has repeatedly said the U.S. and China have a “complex relationship.” Those complexities were readily apparent after Thursday’s session with Hu, where Bush pressed the Chinese leader on two thorny issues: climate change and the buildup of the Chinese military.
On climate change, Bush asked Hu to consider eliminating tariffs on environmental goods and clean-energy technologies. China is one of the world’s biggest polluters, and climate change is one of the major topics at the 21-nation summit in Sydney. Bush is trying to prod China into joining an international effort to set long-range targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“I think the president saw this as a good opportunity to suggest to President Hu a concrete step that he could consider,” Dan Price, a deputy national security adviser to Bush, said, referring to the president’s proposal on tariffs. Asked Hu’s reaction, Price said, “He took it on board.”
Hu said climate change was high on his own agenda as well.
More Top Picks Best Premium Sleeping Pads For Backpacking
“We believe that the issue of climate change bears on the welfare of the whole of humanity and sustainable development of the whole world,” he said. “And this issue should be appropriately tackled through stronger international cooperation.”
Hu and Bush also agreed to create a hot line that will link the two countries’ militaries.
Hu, apparently sensitive about the recall of his country’s consumer products, brought up the issue of product safety. Price said Hu told the president that “the Chinese government took this problem very seriously.”
One issue that was not discussed, however, was the recent attack on Defense Department computers, which has been attributed to Chinese hackers. Bush said he might bring up the issue in his meeting with Hu. Aides later said that he did not.