Bush, anti-war Aussie hold low-key meeting

SYDNEY, Australia — President Bush conferred Thursday with an Australian opposition candidate who is anti-war and could soon be in a position to challenge Bush's Iraq policies.

Bush met with Labor Party candidate Kevin Rudd, who has vowed to bring Australian troops home from Iraq if elected. That's in sharp contrast to the strong support for the war and Bush's recent military buildup from the current prime minister, John Howard.

Rudd leads Howard by a wide margin in polls for elections expected to be held within the next three months. The White House kept the session with Rudd, held in Bush's hotel, as low key as possible.

The president also prepared to deliver a mixed message of encouragement and concern to Chinese President Hu Jintao, the leader of one of the world's fastest-growing economies and one of its most formidable military powers.

Bush and his aides say he's eager to talk to Hu on Thursday about increasing trade and climate controls and to express satisfaction with Beijing's role in pressing North Korea to agree to disavow nuclear weapons. But he's also ready to discuss product-safety issues following a rash of recalls in the United States and to register his worries about China's exchange rate policies.

Bush will urge the Chinese leader to be more aggressive on Iran, raise the issue of jailed dissidents, press Hu on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and on the treatment of the Dalai Lama, administration officials said. He may even bring up unsubstantiated reports that China's military has hacked into Pentagon computers.

"Our relationship with China is complex," Bush said Wednesday.

In his meeting with Rudd, the Australian opposition party candidate, the president and Rudd were seated in chairs. There was no public handshake. Only still photographers were permitted into the room

That contrasts to the extensive coverage of Bush's sessions with Howard — which included a picture-taking session during a morning meeting, a news conference, a boat ride, the two leaders' lunch with Australian troops, and Bush's arrival for dinner with the prime minister.

Bush warmly praised Howard on Wednesday and the Australian leader pledged to keep Australia's roughly 1,600 troops in Iraq until improved ground conditions justifies withdrawals.