Bush, Hu to meet ahead of APEC summit

By David Alexander

LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao planned to discuss North Korea's nuclear program on Friday evening as Asia Pacific leaders gathered for an annual economic summit amid the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

Hundreds of protesters chanted anti-Bush slogans in a square in downtown Lima as he arrived, guarded by police with horses, riot gear and small tanks prepared to shoot water cannon at protesters if things got violent.

Six of the protesters wore orange coveralls with black bags on their heads and their hands tied behind their backs, representing inmates at Guantanamo, the controversial prison camp in Cuba where the United States holds terrorist suspects.

"Out Bush, undesirable foreigner," chanted the protesters during a folk concert. They also burned a giant paper rat that had photos of Bush pasted on it.

Organizers said the protest would be peaceful and also plan a march on the U.S. Embassy on Saturday.

Experts said the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru, was unlikely to produce any major breakthroughs for the U.S. president but aides rejected any suggestion the trip was just a farewell bow by a leader with record low approval ratings.

"This is a serious meeting," said Daniel Price, Bush's adviser on international economic affairs, noting that the president's long advocacy of free trade and open markets meshed well with APEC's core mission.

"I don't think this is a farewell ... but rather an opportunity for the president to continue to carry forward an affirmative agenda."

Bush and Hu were to talk about encouraging North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and Bush also planned to meet with Japanese and South Korean leaders on Saturday.

Trade experts said the administration's goals for APEC would be tempered by the fact that Bush will hand over power to President-elect Barack Obama on January 20.

"The president, I think, is going to be loath to sort of push his own agenda or this administration's agenda with the moving trucks pulling up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," said Charles Freeman, a former assistant U.S. trade representative for China affairs.

APEC SPOTLIGHT

The APEC gathering of 21 countries, which account for nearly half the world's trade, "is an important meeting this time, particularly given the financial situation in the world," Bush said in an interview with America TV of Peru.

He denied Latin America became a lower priority for his administration after the September 11 attacks.

Free-trade agreements with countries in the region and programs focusing on health and education showed the U.S. commitment to Latin America, he said. "The record speaks about our deep desire to be good neighbors and to have friends."