United States President George W. Bush arrived in Beijing at 10:10 am local time (GMT 2:10 am) Thursday morning for a two-day working visit to China as guest of Chinese President Jiang Zemin. China is the last leg of Bush's Northeast Asia trip, which has taken him to Japan and South Korea.

Jiang and Bush will hold talks later on Thursday to exchange views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern, after which the two heads of state will jointly meet the press, according to sources at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This will be the second meeting between Jiang and Bush in five months. The two met for the first time during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders Meeting held in Shanghai in October last year.

Also on Bush's agenda in the Chinese capital will be a speech at a local prestigious university, and a visit to the Great Wall, according to the sources.

During an interview with Xinhua in Washington last week, Bush said the United States "must work to have good relations with China."

Bush's visit occurs on the 30th anniversary of US President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China, which is known as an "ice-breaking journey" in the history of Sino-US relations.

(China Daily February 21, 2002)