US President George W. Bush will use his upcoming visit to China to tour parts of Beijing that he first saw when his father was US ambassador to the country, the Chinese foreign ministry said Thursday.

"President Bush expressed the wish to visit the suburbs of Beijing after many years of not having visited Beijing, and some historical scenery," ministry spokesman Kong Quan said at a regular briefing.

Bush is scheduled to hold a summit with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing on February 21-22, his second visit to China since taking office in January 2001.

He took part in an Asia-Pacific summit in Shanghai in October, but canceled a planned visit to the Chinese capital.

Bush first visited China in the mid-1970s, when his father George Bush served as the top US envoy during the first thaw in Sino-US relations for more than two decades.

(chinadaily.com.cn)