WASHINGTON, April 20 (UPI) -- Iran, Korea and problematic U.S.-Chinese trade relations were on the agenda of President Bush's talks Thursday with visiting President Hu Jintao.
President Hu, who is visiting the United States, was received at the White House with full military honors. In his welcoming remarks Bush listed the topics the administration wished to address in Thursday's bi-lateral talks.
Bush said he wanted to "deepen cooperation" with Beijing on "the nuclear ambitions of Iran," and to "seek President Hu's advice and cooperation and urge his nation to use its influence with North Korea."
The Bush administration is seeking China's support to jumpstart six-nation talks -- United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia -- with Pyongyang on halting its nuclear program that have been stalled for almost a year.
China is a major importer of Iranian oil, and also a key member of the U.N. Security Council which is to decide what steps to take if the Iranians decide to go ahead with enriching uranium.
Bush also said he would continue to press the Chinese on "the importance of respecting human rights and freedoms of the Chinese people." As Hu was replying to Bush a Chinese woman protester who had somehow slipped into the press section, started shouting in Chinese, "President Hu, your days are numbered. President Bush make him stop persecuting Falung Gong" -- a reference to the outlawed religious group in China.
The woman was removed from the White House lawn by security police.
