Bush, Hu find no breakthrough on Iran

President George W Bush failed to win a commitment from Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday on immediate steps to reduce China's $202 billion trade surplus with the United States.

President George W Bush failed to win a commitment from Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday on immediate steps to reduce China's $202 billion trade surplus with the United States.

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Hu did give Bush a general assurance he was working to make the Chinese currency more "flexible" but this fell far short of US demands for a dramatic revaluation of the yuan as a way to make US products more competitive in Chinese and global markets and reduce the trade imbalance.

The two leaders also failed to bridge differences over how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions. Bush wants China to agree to tougher UN Security Council action, but his arguments did not persuade Hu.

Speaking in the Oval Office, the two leaders said their bilateral relationship had matured and they could discuss differences openly. "He tells me what he thinks, and I tell him what I think, and we do so with respect," Bush said.