President George W. Bush and wife Laura will attend the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, next month and they should. There is much more to be gained by the Bushes' being there than by ignoring the event.

There are critics of the decision and there will be more, perhaps even some pointless demonstrations. There are those in favor of world leaders organizing a boycott of the opening festivities, though not the Games themselves. There is justifiable displeasure about the state of human rights in China and in particular the harsh treatment of Tibetans bidding for autonomy.

It is notable that other world leaders will join the Bushes at the ceremonies and that could set up future meetings to improve U.S.-China relations. While Bush may not do so, he probably will have opportunities to address a number of issues with the Chinese - including efforts to fight global warming and create better energy policies. The Chinese will counter that America has 5 percent of the world's population and uses some 25 percent of its petroleum supply. The hosts will have some points to make, too, and it will be interesting to see what kind of groundwork Bush and his people can lay for future progress.

The Chinese are tremendously proud of the fact they were chosen as the site of the 2008 Games. They have fallen short of promises they made concerning human rights when they were campaigning for the Olympics. They still must take enormous strides to be fully ready. Their air, water and atmosphere are generally a mess. Food supplies are questionable. How the pollution will affect athletes in outdoor activities is a source of concern to many.

Experts say China, on the economic if not the democratic upswing, has some 300 million people doing fairly well with another billion citizens still at the poverty level. Still China is a world power to be reckoned with and will be an even bigger factor down the line. Democratization, if it ever occurs as we envision it, will be slow and painful for those "other billion."

China needs the United States, to be sure, but the U.S. also needs a working relationship with this giant of Asia.

A boycott by the Bushes of the Olympic opening ceremonies would lead to ruptures, hurt pride and resentment that would be major barriers to the kinds of gains America needs to make to remain the world's No. 1 power.