U.S. President George W. Bush, welcoming President Hu Jintao to the White 
House, said on Thursday his nation intends to "build a relationship that is 
candid and cooperative" with China. 
 
 
   Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, shakes 
 hands with President Bush during an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of 
 the White House, Thursday, April 20, 2006, in Washington. 
 [AP] | 
President Hu, receiving a 21-gun welcome and a full military honor guard 
solute, reciprocated by talking to a massive audience of government officials 
from both countries that he has come " to enhance dialogue, expand common 
ground, deepen mutual trust and cooperation, and promote an all-around growth of 
constructive and cooperative China-US relations in the 21st century". 
Hu emphasized in his address that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese 
territory. And, Beijing will continue to make every effort and endeavor with 
every sincerity to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification of the two 
sides across the Taiwan Straits. 
"We will work with our Taiwan compatriots to promote the peaceful development 
of cross-Straits relations. However, we will never allow anyone to make Taiwan 
secede from China by any means," said the Chinese President. 
Hu and his wife, Liu Yongqing, arrived at the White House in a limousine in 
bright spring sunshine, greeted by Mr Bush and the First Lady Laura Bush. Vice 
President Cheney, Secretary of State Rice, Secretary of Defense Rumlsfeld were 
among the greeting team. 
"The United States and China are two nations divided by a vast ocean, yet 
connected through a global economy that has created opportunity for both our 
peoples," Bush said. "The United States welcomes the emergence of a China that 
is peaceful and prosperous and that supports international institutions. 
Bush said that as stakeholders in the international system, the two countries 
share many strategic interests. He noted that bilateral trade had grown to 
US$285 billion last year, with US exports to China rising a remarkable 21 
percent. 
He said that the United States welcome China's commitments to increase 
domestic demand, to reform its pension system, to expand market access for US 
goods and services, to improve enforcement of intellectual property rights and 
to move toward a flexible market-based exchange rate for its currency, the yuan. 
Mr Bush also solicited help in his welcome address from China to "deepen our 
cooperation in addressing threats to global security", including the Iran and 
North Korea nuclear disputes. 
He said that the countries will continue to cooperate to fight avian flu and 
other pandemic diseases, to cooperate to respond to natural disasters, to 
cooperate to develop alternatives to fossil fuels.