Bush to push president on trade and currency

US President George W. Bush says the US trade imbalance with China is "bothersome" and Beijing should do more to open the country's markets and promote greater currency flexibility.

Speaking before a four-nation trip to Asia, Mr Bush said the revaluation of China's yuan in July was a "strong step forward".

But he plans to press President Hu Jintao on the currency issue at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum next week and during a visit to Beijing.

"I will remind him that this government believes they should continue to advance towards market-based evaluation of their currency, for the sake of the world, not just for the sake of bilateral relations," Mr Bush said.

"The trade balance between China and the United States is bothersome to people here," he said, urging greater access for US businesses to China's markets.

In addition to attending the November 18-19 Apec summit in South Korea, Mr Bush will visit Japan, China and Mongolia.

Mr Bush said he and Mr Hu had a "very good" personal relationship, but described Sino-American relations as "mixed".

He said he hoped at the Apec meeting to place "a strong focus on intellectual property rights throughout the world" as well as on the need for further discussions about co-operation on energy issues.

"China is a vast, significant, growing economy that is using more and more energy. And here is an area where all of us can work together - and that is on how to share technologies and use technologies in such a way that we become less dependent on hydrocarbons," Mr Bush said.

He planned to emphasise on the Asia trip the importance of making progress at the World Trade Organisation's trade talks in Hong Kong next month.