Bush nudges China on rights ahead of Olympics

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush urged China's leadership on Tuesday to use the Beijing Olympics to show a commitment to human rights, the White House said, as he nudged his Chinese hosts about U.S. concerns 10 days before attending the games' opening ceremonies.

Under pressure from U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups to take a stronger stand on China's rights record, Bush -- who has repeatedly said he is going to the Olympics for sports and not for politics -- held separate meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Chinese democracy activists.

He used his talks with five activists to "discuss his concerns about human rights in China," the White House said in a statement. "The president assured them that he will carry the message of freedom as he travels to Beijing for the games, just as he has regularly made this a priority in all of his meetings with Chinese officials.

"He told the activists that engagement with Chinese leaders gives him an opportunity to make the United States' position clear -- human rights and religious freedom should not be denied to anyone," it said.

Bush also dropped in on a separate meeting between his national security adviser, Steven Hadley, and the Chinese foreign minister, the White House said.

"The president reviewed current bilateral relations with the foreign minister, as well as his desire to see a successful Olympics, and noted that this presents the Chinese with an opportunity to demonstrate compassion on human rights and freedom."

Bush has rejected calls from rights groups to boycott the start of the summer games, insisting that would have been an "affront" to the Chinese people making it harder for him to talk candidly to their leaders about human rights concerns.

With the games due to open on August 8, Amnesty International issued a scathing assessment of China's record on Tuesday, saying many of its citizens' protections and freedoms have shrunk since Beijing won the right to hold the Olympics.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, editing by Chris Wilson)