Bush presses China on reforms

"We encourage China to continue down the road of reform and openness because the freer China is at home, the greater the welcome it will receive abroad," he said in the keynote speech of a week-long trip to Asia.

"Modern Taiwan is free and democratic and prosperous. By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society," he said.

Bush, who heads to Beijing Saturday, did not say precisely what model China ought to follow, and he stressed longstanding US policy that this is "One China" and that Washington opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo.

Still, his comments riled Beijing, which views Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

"Taiwan is a part of China, an inseparable part of China, and China does not brook any interference in its internal affairs," Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told AFP on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea.

Bush's speech centered on US engagement in Asia and China's future at a time when Bush has come under increased pressure at home to address Beijing's rising global clout in political, economic, and military affairs.

Bush left Japan Wednesday for an Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, his second stop on a four-nation Asian tour, a Japanese official said.

He spent one day in the historic Japanese city of Kyoto, where he held talks with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, one of his closest international allies.

Bush flew out at around 4:40 pm (0740 GMT) from Osaka en route to the South Korean port of Busan, where 21 leaders will take part in the Asia-Pacific summit including Bush, Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao.