Bush brings pro-trade theme to APEC forum

Economic crisis, North Korea on US agenda

LIMA, Peru - President Bush arrived in South America yesterday for the final scheduled foreign trip of his presidency, hoping to bolster confidence in efforts to rescue the global economy and move forward on North Korean nuclear disarmament.

Bush is attending the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The 21 member nations account for nearly half of all global trade and 55 percent of the world's gross domestic product, reflecting in part the ascendance of East Asia and China. Among the organization's members are China and Russia. Along with Peru, Chile, and Mexico are the Latin American members.

"APEC is an important meeting at this time, particularly given the financial situation in the world," Bush said in an interview with Peru's America Television.

Bush is expected to urge support for the consensus that he and other world leaders backed last weekend in Washington. The leaders of the Group of 20, composed of major countries with developed or emerging economies, signed off on a blueprint to spur economic growth and resist new trade barriers, while also calling for improved oversight and regulation.

The president "will be seeking to build on the results" of the Washington conclave, Dan Price, assistant to Bush for international economic affairs, told reporters in a briefing en route to Lima.

Many APEC members seem likely to back the Bush administration's argument that nations should not turn to protectionism in the midst of economic turmoil.

"At APEC, we hope the leaders will endorse and support the declaration adopted at the [Washington] summit," Price said.

The economic news from the United States worsened for much of the past week. Unemployment claims soared, the battered US automotive industry sought a bailout, and Wall Street losses mounted before a strong rally yesterday.

Dana Perino, the presidential press secretary, didn't answer directly when asked whether the economy was going in the right direction. "We didn't promise immediate results," she said.

Bush was holding several one-on-one sessions in Lima, starting yesterday with a private meeting with President Hu Jintao of China.

In the meeting, Bush and Hu talked about ways to reach a method for verifying North Korea's nuclear declarations. The issue of North Korean disarmament also was expected to come up in discussions with leaders of Japan and South Korea.

China hosts the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weaponry. North Korea Pyongyang is seeking economic and diplomatic concessions in exchange for nuclear dismantlement.

The administration hopes to have a date set in early December for resuming talks on North Korea. Perino said Bush and Hu discussed the meeting, but no date was set.

It was unclear whether Bush would meet one-on-one with President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia at a time when relations between the former Cold War rivals are again strained. The conflict in Georgia and US plans to install a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe are among the controversies that have chilled diplomacy between Moscow and Washington.