On Taiwan, Bush told Hu he supports the "One China" policy and the US law that requires Washington to help Taiwan's self-defense, and warned against "any unilateral attempt" to change the status quo, said spokesman Scott McClellan.

"He also reiterated his opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and encouraged Beijing to look for opportunities for cross-strait dialogue," said McClellan.

Hu "reiterated China's commitment to the six-party talks" grouping China, Japan, Russia, the United States, and North and South Korea in an effort to end the standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear programs, said McClellan.

"The leaders also discussed economic issues, including China's commitment to move forward firmly and steadily to a market-based, flexible exchange rate," the spokesman said.

Washington charges that the Chinese currency's dollar peg artificially weakens the cost of Chinese exports -- making them more competitive -- while increasing the cost of imported goods in China.

Bush, who has been talking up the issue ahead of the November 2 election, telephoned Hu "as part of our continuing, constructive, cooperative and candid dialogue with China on US-China relations," said McClellan.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.