REUTERS in Santiago

China expects to play a greater role in international trade talks to match its growing clout and will seek closer US ties during the second Bush administration, a senior Chinese diplomat says.

Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang , speaking before the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum, said the 21-member group had much work to do to boost trade.

On the mainland's ties with the United States, Mr Shen said Beijing wanted to build on "common interests" confirmed during US President George W. Bush's first term. But he said Beijing had "no room for any compromise" on Taiwan.

"China supports and values using the Apec framework to back up the multilateral trading system and China will do more work and play a greater role, using our inherent strengths to push for substantive results in trade talks," he said.

Apec - which accounts for about half of world trade and includes the US, Japan and China - must take up its "widely recognised role in promoting the Doha trade talks agenda and in pushing WTO members to move forward on trade liberalisation", Mr Shen said.

The Doha round of World Trade Organisation talks have been stalled since a spat in Cancun, Mexico, last year over farm subsidies.

Members of the grouping, including host Chile, have pursued bilateral free-trade agreements, or FTAs, to cut tariffs and free trade in the absence of WTO progress.

"China supports in principle the formation of bilateral FTA arrangements among Apec members, but Apec must also provide guidance in pushing wider trade liberalisation," Mr Shen said.

President Hu Jintao will hold talks with Mr Bush in one of the more important of many bilateral summits on the sidelines of Apec.

"China has full confidence in prospects for China-US relations during the second Bush term, because we have increasingly more common ground on more and more questions," Mr Shen said.

Mr Shen cited trade, anti-terrorism and halting North Korea's nuclear arms ambitions as shared concerns.

"Some differences can be narrowed ... but others are matters of principle and China will stick to its principles," he said.

"Taiwan relates to China's core interest and on that we have no room for any compromise.

"We appreciate the US position of pursuing a one-China policy and opposing Taiwan independence, but we hope they will match their deeds with their words."