Hu says Taiwan is stumbling block

Hu Jintao: "If any trouble occurs on the Taiwan question, it would be difficult for China-U.S. relations to move forward"

(CNN) -- Chinese Vice-President Hu Jintao has identified Taiwan as the biggest potential stumbling block confronting China and the United States and their quest for closer economic and cultural ties.

Hu addressed reporters after his Wednesday evening White House meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other U.S. officials.

The man deemed something of a mystery figure in the United State is widely expected to become Communist Party secretary general later this year and president next year.

Hu and his American hosts have failed to agree on Taiwan but measures are being taken to restore crucial military-to-military exchanges.

Officials traveling with Hu said while both sides frankly stated their positions, there was no major positional shift by either party on any sensitive issues.

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The official China News Service quoted Hu as saying in Washington that there had been "some disruptions" to bilateral relations, a reference to growing Washington-Taipei ties.

"The U.S. side should uphold the one China policy... and take concrete actions to brush aside the disruptions," Hu added.

Hu described Taiwan's continuing autonomy as the key to bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington, saying that if the issue was not resolved "retrogression (in relations) may also occur".

While affirming the one China principle, U.S. leaders stressed to Hu that China must cease intimidating Taiwan through means such as stockpiling missiles along the Taiwan coast.

In his briefing to the international media, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer denied there had been any change in Washington's policies on Taiwan.

Fleischer reiterated Washington's desire to see a peaceful resolution to the Taiwan issue.

However, in an apparent reference to Chinese military build-up, Fleisher warned against "provocation on either side of the Taiwan Strait."

In Taipei, Joseph Wu, deputy secretary general to Taiwan's president, told reporters the government does not believe Hu's visit represents a threat to Taiwan's security.

Nuclear nonproliferation

Other issues covered by Hu's marathon discussions with American leaders and members of Congress included the anti-terrorist campaign, arms proliferation as well as human rights.

No agreement was reached on Washington's demand that Beijing publish a full list of weapons and military technology that Chinese firms could not export.

At the same time, Hu failed to secure from the U.S. a promise to lift the sanctions on the export on military-related high technology to China.

In his speech after the 30-minute meeting with Bush, Hu stressed that China was against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and was a signatory to treaties prohibiting their use.

Hu's tough stance on human rights did not appease protestors calling for the release of political prisoners in Tibet

But Washington still harbors suspicions that China is responsible for arms sales to what the U.S. dubs 'rogue states', including North Korea, Iran and Libya.

Diplomats in Washington and Beijing said perhaps the only concrete result of the Hu visit was an agreement with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that the two armies would resume contact.

"Both sides have agreed to take a series of steps to revive and strengthen exchanges between the two military forces," Hu said.

In protest against the March visit to the U.S. by Taiwan Defense Minister Tang Yiau-ming, Beijing called off a scheduled port call to the U.S. by Chinese naval vessels.

Human rights protests

Hu maintained a tough stance on the human rights issue, refusing to accept four letters from U.S. legislators calling on Beijing to release political prisoners and promote religious freedom.

During Hu's travels around Washington, groups opposed to Chinese control of Tibet held demonstrations. Hu once served as China's top official in the region.

The International Campaign for Tibet said that during Hu's four-year tenure in Tibet, the number of Tibetan political prisoners numbered in the hundreds.

The group says that the Tibetan issue should be resolved through negotiations between Chinese officials, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile.

While no concrete agreements emerged, analysts agreed 59-year-old Chinese vice-president achieved his principal goal of getting acquainted with American leaders in different sectors and underscored Beijing's desire to improve ties with the U.S.

-- CNN Senior China Analyst Willy Wo-Lap Lam contributed to this report