Former US president, and father of the current White House incumbent, George Bush was in Shanghai to give a speech on the environment and meet with top city officials.

Bush took part in the 2004 Shanghai International Environmental Protection Forum along with renowned environmentalists and entrepreneurs.

In a keynote speech to the forum, Bush stressed that China's relationship with the United States is the most important bilateral relationship in the world and is the basis for cooperation between the two nations on issues such as environmental protection.

Sponsored by the US-China Foundation, the forum was designed to provide a platform to swap experience and seek collaboration opportunities in the field of environmental protection.

He also met yesterday with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Liangyu - the city's highest ranking official - who said he has high respect for Bush's contributions to a healthy Sino-American relationship during his tenure in office.

Bush said he was pleased to visit Shanghai and see its tremendous change.

Source: Shanghai Daily News