Bush said yesterday he would also urge Hu, who will visit Washington on April 20, to use fairer trade practices and respect intellectual property rights.

"I will continue to remind him, ours is a complex relationship and that we would hope that he would not fear a free society, just like it doesn't appear that he is fearing a free market," Bush said in a speech to freedom house, an independent pro-democracy group.

The US leader said he has not hesitated to talk to Hu about his meetings with Tibet's spiritual leader, the dalai lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 when Beijing crushed an anti-Chinese uprising there.

"Nor do I hesitate to talk about the concerns of the (roman) catholic church. I'm anxious to talk to him about the evangelicals' concerns inside of china, reminding him that a whole society is one that's just more than open markets," he said.

Bush said he would also press Hu on economic matters.

"I will make it clear, of course, to the president that our relationship is vital on a variety of fronts. One such front is the economy, and we expect that country to treat us fairly," he said.

"We expect there to be strong adherence to intellectual property rights. We believe that we grow pretty good crops and grow good beef and perhaps it's in their interest to open up their markets to our agricultural products," he said.

Source: Zeenews.com