Bush met Cao when he stopped by a White House meeting between the Chinese defense minister and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday.

A White House official said Cao met for about 30 minutes with Rice, and Bush stopped by for about five minutes.

An administration official said Bush used his brief talk with Cao to emphasize how important he believes the Chinese have been and will be in the future regarding the DPRK.

Cao's White House visit is part of a series of Washington meetings over the last few days with US officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the meeting with Powell was "a very broad-ranging discussion of relations between the two countries" that addressed "the desire of both presidents to move forward."

"The secretary expressed his strong support for the progress that's been made in the relationship and the hope that we could see even more progress, including on the military-to-military relationships," Boucher said.

Powell also congratulated Cao on the successful Chinese space launch earlier this month, Boucher said.

A senior State Department official said Powell and Cao discussed Taiwan, and Cao reiterated that China wanted the United States to adhere to the "one-China" policy, spelled out in three communiqu¨¦s between the two sides on the issue.