Bush Lauds China Leader as 'Partner' in Diplomacy By DAVID E. SANGER Published: December 10, 2003 ASHINGTON, Dec. 9 — President Bush welcomed the Chinese prime minister, Wen Ji abao, to the White House on Tuesday, declaring that Washington and Beijing are now "partners in diplomacy" and bluntly warning Taiwan that he opposed any atte mpt to change its relationship with the mainland, even through a referendum. White House officials said Mr. Bush's comments were aimed at "preserving the pe ace in the Taiwan Strait." But his words fueled an argument with his base, lead ing some conservatives to call the president's comment "a mistake" and term it "appeasement of a dictatorship." Mr. Bush's warning to Taiwan was motivated by President Chen Shu-bian's move to hold a referendum to condemn China's buildup of ballistic missiles aimed at th e island — a move the administration views as an election-year ploy. Mr. Bush was clearly prepared with an answer to a question about the referendum, which T aiwan says will proceed. "The comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppos e," Mr. Bush said. [Hours later in Taipei, Mr. Chen responded on Wednesday, and for the second con secutive time said the referendum would be held, Reuters reported. Calling the referendum "defensive," he said it was intended to "avoid war and eliminate the people's fear."] On Tuesday night, Mr. Wen addressed several hundred business executives and Chi na experts and in a rare departure from his prepared speech, described watching his family's house burn during the Japanese occupation of China. He told his audience how Mr. Bush, knowing Mr. Wen's interest in Lincoln, took him Tuesday morning to the Lincoln Bedroom to examine a handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address. He later cited Lincoln's effort to hold the Union together to justify keeping Taiwan from separating "under the signboard of democracy." Mr. Wen's welcome underscored how much China's standing in Washington has chang ed. Mr. Bush came to office dismissing the Clinton administration's talk of Chi na as a "strategic partner," and characterized China instead as a "strategic co mpetitor." Mr. Wen, a former geologist who rose in the ranks of the Communist Party, was g iven treatment that the Bush administration has so far accorded to no other No. 2 official from abroad. On the South Lawn on Tuesday morning, he reviewed the troops, observed a Colonial fife-and-drum performance, and received a 19-gun sa lute, two shots shy of those given a head of state. Mr. Bush spent much of his first meeting with Mr. Wen discussing the turmoil ov er North Korea's nuclear program, in which China is playing a critical role as mediator and a conduit of messages. Just hours before the two men met, North Ko rea said that in return for the right concessions it might consider re-freezing its nuclear program, bringing the situation back to roughly what it was a year ago, before the North began turning nuclear fuel rods into bomb material. Mr. Bush rejected the proposal. "The goal of the United States is not for a fre eze of the nuclear program," he said. "The goal is to dismantle a nuclear weapo ns program in a verifiable and irreversible way." Later, a senior administration official involved in the North Korean talks said Mr. Wen indicated "we have not yet reached the point" where North Korea is rea dy for talks with the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia. The administration had hoped for talks before the end of the year. The official also acknowledged, for the first time, that North Korea had used t he past year to add to its nuclear arsenal. Asked if the North had produced add itional plutonium fuel or actual weapons, the official said: "I would mean both . But I can't be specific because I don't think we know" the amounts. On the most politically potent issue of the visit, China's surging $120 billion trade surplus with the United States, Mr. Wen offered conciliatory words and f ew concrete plans. He celebrated the huge expansion in trade, but said, "We hav e to admit, though, in our economic and trade relationship problems do exist." In a meeting with Mr. Bush's economic team, he suggested that the solution was more American exports to China rather than any restriction on Chinese exports t o America. China's critics in Congress believe that Mr. Wen has calculated that Mr. Bush i s unwilling to make an issue of trade when he needs Beijing's support on Korea. "The Chinese believe they can get away with it," Senator Charles E. Schumer, th e New York Democrat, said in an interview. "This administration will trade away economic help for diplomatic gain." Mr. Schumer is a sponsor of an effort to place high tariffs on Chinese goods un til China allows its currency, the yuan, to appreciate against the dollar, whic h would make Chinese goods more expensive here. In an effort to allay criticism of Mr. Bush's support for Beijing, administrati on officials came to the White House press room to declare that the United Stat es was not "abandoning support for Taiwan's democracy or for the spread of free dom." But three conservatives, William Kristol, Robert Kagan and Gary Schmitt, issued a statement asking "can it really be President Bush's position that Taiwan is not permitted to hold any democratic referenda at all?" --

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