In remarks to the press in Bangkok October 19, President Bush and President Hu Jintao of China said they had "a very constructive dialogue" on fair trade, the global war on terrorism, and North Korea.

"We have a mutual goal, and that is that the [Korean] Peninsula be free of nuclear weapons," Bush said.

October 19, 2003

PRESIDENT BUSH: President Hu and I have had a very constructive dialogue. We talked about a lot of important issues. We talked about the issue of trade. We talked about the need to make sure that trade is open and that both countries benefit from trade. I congratulated China on its recent space launch. I thanked the President for his work on the recent Security Council resolution for Iraq. We talked about our mutual desire to wage and win the fight against terror. We spent time, of course, talking about North Korea. We have a mutual goal, and that is that the Peninsula be free of nuclear weapons.

I want to thank the President for leading the Beijing talks. We talked about how to advance the Beijing talks. We talked about how to advance them to achieving a mutual goal, which is a weapons-free Peninsula, as well as addressing the security concerns of North Korea within the context of the six-party talks.

So we've had a very constructive dialogue, and I want to thank the President.

PRESIDENT HU: I just had a friendly meeting with President Bush. This is our second meeting in this year. I think that, in itself, shows the very sound momentum of the development of our bilateral relations.

We discussed the questions such as the economy and trade, the terror question, counter-terrorism, Iraq, and North Korean nuclear issue. We both agreed that the economic cooperation and trade between our two countries have benefitted our two peoples tremendously, and we stated our readiness to resolve whatever questions that might emerge in our economic exchanges and trade through dialogue.

President Bush restated his government's position of adhering to the one China policy, the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and his opposition to Taiwan independence. And we both stated our desire to further intensify our cooperation against the terrorism.

About the North Korean nuclear issue, I said to the President that China will continue to strengthen our communication and consultations with various parties concerned, and we will continue to work to promote the Beijing six-party talks process, so as to strive for a peaceful resolution of this issue.

I'm ready to work together with the President to promote further development of our constructive and cooperative relationship.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir.