The North Korean nuclear crisis also looms large, with negotiators involved in efforts to curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambition shuttling between Hanoi's luxury hotels to discuss a date for resuming six-party talks.

"We really want to start this in December, but we are also very much aware of the need to have progress," chief US envoy Christopher Hill told reporters Friday after a meeting with a senior Chinese diplomat.

Vietnam, set to become the WTO's 150th member before year's end, sees the APEC summit as its international debut, and is keen to show the world that it should be taken seriously as a global economic player.

More than 1,000 corporate executives keen to do business in this country of 84 million people met in Hanoi on Friday on the sidelines of the APEC gathering for a series of seminars and speeches from leaders including China's Hu.

For Bush, weakened by a crushing defeat in mid-term legislative elections earlier this month, it is his first visit to the communist country, sealing a banner year for relations between the former enemies.

Following the summit, he will travel to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, to visit the fledgling but bustling stock market in East Asia's fastest-growing economy after China.

For some ordinary Vietnamese, Bush's state visit paled in comparison to the rock-star welcome afforded Clinton.

"Bush is the president that reminds us of our past because both he and his father are a bit aggressive," said 65-year-old Nguyen Tran Thang, who said he had served as a North Vietnamese soldier from 1967 to 1975.

But retired scientist Nguyen Thi My Hanh was more optimistic, telling AFP: "If he brought war to Vietnam, things would be different. But now, in fact, his visit brings some benefits to the country."

1

2