Chinese President Hu Jintao is due to arrive in Canada to begin his first tour of North America since becoming China's supreme leader, after cancelling stops in the United States due to Hurricane Katrina, according to Chinese officials, AFP reported.

President Hu Jintao [newsphoto]

Hu was to have met US President George W. Bush at the White House, but with the US leader busy overseeing the response to Hurricane Katrina, Hu will instead meet Bush briefly on the sidelines of a UN summit, a Chinese official told AFP.

His visit to Washington would have been his first since becoming president of China. Hu traveled to the US capital in May 2002 when he was vice-president.

Tensions over trade, political and strategic issues would likely have dominated the contentious summit.

Hu has also cancelled tours of the Boeing aircraft plant and Microsoft's Seattle headquarters September 6-8, as well as plans to give a speech at Yale University.

But, Hu will continue with the Canadian and Mexican stops of his tour and attend the United Nations General Assembly 60th anniversary summit in New York on September 14-16 as planned, the Chinese official said.

Bush moved into crisis mode after Katrina swept through the southern United States on August 29, leaving a broad trail of destruction and a massive exodus of evacuees from New Orleans and surrounding areas.

The two leaders, who spoke by telephone early Saturday, agreed to meet on the sidelines of the UN meeting, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in a statement.

They will discuss bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern, according to a statement posted on China's US embassy website, and exchange views on matters concerning the United Nations.

In Ottawa, Hu will be greeted by Canadian Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, the first Chinese-Canadian to be appointed to the post. She was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada as a child with her family in 1942 to escape World War II.

The following day, Hu will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin to discuss climate change, energy, science and technology, investment, trade, tourism and human rights.

China is Canada's second-biggest trading partner behind the United States.

Trade with China could further increase as trade spats with the United States have encouraged Canadian companies to look elsewhere, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew told AFP.

In 2004, Canadian exports to China grew by 40 percent while the reverse movement of goods increased 30 percent, often displacing other Asian imports, he said.

"It's a significant and dynamic trade relationship," Pettigrew said.

China is eager to buy Canadian natural resources to feed its burgeoning economy, particularly oil from Alberta province's oil sands, the second biggest oil deposit in the world, and uranium for 40 nuclear reactors it plans to build by 2020 to generate electricity and reduce its reliance on coal, he said.

Last month, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) won a bidding war to buy Canadian oil company PetroKazakhstan for a whopping 4.18 billion US dollars.

"This visit is an opportunity to strengthen our personal relationship and our commitment to forming strategic partnerships between our two countries," Martin said in announcing the visit last week.

"It's an opportunity to make an impression on a leader who will have a very, very strong influence on the development of China for the next decade," said a senior Canadian foreign affairs official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"What is really key during this visit is how we shape his personal view of Canada and Canada's role as a partner for China."

Martin and Hu will also sign an air travel agreement that will increase flights between China and Canada threefold, officials said, hoping this will bring more Chinese tourists to Canada and boost trade and investment between the two nations.

There are nearly one million Chinese-Canadians living mostly in Toronto and Vancouver, two cities Hu will visit this month, who have helped build ties between the two countries.

"Canada is in a rather unique position among G8 countries in that we have the largest Chinese population per capita possibly of any western country. What makes the relationship grow are the people," a senior Canadian official said.