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US President George W. Bush sees his upcoming Texas summit with Chinese President Jiang Zemin as a chance to discuss trade, bilateral ties, and action against Iraq, the White House said Thursday.
The US leader will welcome Jiang to his "Prairie Chapel" ranch near tiny Crawford, Texas, for talks on October 25, before both presidents head to Mexico for the Asia-Pacific Cooperation forum summit, according to Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer.
Bush "looks forward to talking about the status of US-China relations. Trade between the United States and China is a very important matter that has been very helpful to the American economy," said Fleischer.
"Depending on the international situation, we'll see what is discussed vis-?-vis Iraq. I think there could be a great many matters that are discussed at that meeting," the spokesman said.
China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, has opposed Bush's calls for military action against Iraq if it fails to come clean over alleged stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
Beijing has consistently called for a political and peaceful rather than a military resolution to the Iraq issue, insisting that decisions about Iraq should be made within the United Nations and not unilaterally by Washington.
(China Daily October 11, 2002)
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