Washington ? President Bush, emerging from a White House meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, warned Taiwan on Tuesday in unusually blunt terms to drop its plans for a voter referendum that China views as a step toward the island proclaiming its independence.

Bush’s remarks followed weeks of public pressure and behind-the-scenes diplomacy by the U.S. aimed at persuading Taiwan’s president, Chen Shui-bian, to cancel a March referendum calling on China to aim its ballistic missiles away from Taiwan and end its intimidation of the island.

“We oppose any unilateral decision, by either China or Taiwan, to change the status quo,” Bush said. “And the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose.”

Wen welcomed Bush’s response at he called a “crucial juncture” in U.S.-Chinese relations.

“The Chinese government respects the desires of people in Taiwan for democracy,” Wen said in the Oval Office following a 40-minute meeting with Bush. “But we must point out that the attempts of the Taiwan authorities, headed by Chen Shui-bian, are only using democracy as an excuse and attempt to break Taiwan away from China.”

Taiwanese officials on Tuesday denied that the referendum was part of a larger strategy to sever itself from China and said they would proceed with plans to place it on the March ballot despite U.S. opposition.

Those developments, and Bush’s remarks, come at a delicate moment in U.S. relations with China.

China is a crucial intermediary in U.S. negotiations with North Korea over the elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and, for now, remains America’s best hope for avoiding a military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula.

The United States also is hoping to persuade Beijing to adopt new monetary policies that could reduce the nearly $120 billion U.S. trade deficit with China.

President Bush and China's Premier, Wen Jiabao, review the ceremonial Old Guard march during the state arrival ceremonies on the South Lawn of the White House. During Jiabao's visit Tuesday, Bush warned Taiwan to recall a March referendum seeking independence from China.

“The U.S. is in a difficult position with so many fish to fry in the world,” said Derek Mitchell, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Increasingly, we are relying on China. What we don’t need is a third party complicating that relationship, even one that is pushing democracy.”