Bush says won't criticise China at Olympics

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said he would go to China for the Olympics but would not talk publicly there about Beijing's policies since he urges its president in private to do more to relieve suffering in Darfur.

Bush said movie director Steven Spielberg's decision to quit his Beijing Olympics role because of China's policies in Sudan was a personal decision.

"It's up to him. I am going to the Olympics, I view the Olympics as a sporting event," Bush said, speaking to BBC World News America before flying to Africa.

He said in meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao "I do remind him that he can do more to relieve the suffering in Darfur."

"There are a lot of issues that I suspect people are going to opine about during the Olympics -- the Dalai Lama crowd, you've got the Global Warming folks, you got Darfur.

"I am not going to go and use the Olympics as an opportunity to express my opinions to the Chinese people in a public way because I do it all the time with the President."

Bush also defended what he called his "seminal decision" not to send U.S. troops to Darfur despite what he called the genocide there.

His decision not intervene by force was taken partly out of the desire not to send U.S. troops into another Muslim country, he said.

"I was pretty well backed off of it by a lot of folks here in America who care deeply about the issue. Once you make that decision you have to rely upon an international organisation like the United Nations to provide the oomph," he said.