BEIJING, April 14: US Vice President Dick Cheney was pressured over Taiwan in meetings with China's top leaders on Wednesday, while he presented them with new intelligence on North Korea's nuclear programme.

Within the space of a few hectic hours, he met China's three most powerful men - President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and military chief Jiang Zemin - and was left in no doubt what they wanted from Washington.

"We hope that the United States can observe its commitment to adhere to the one-China policy," Mr Hu told Dick Cheney, referring to the position that the mainland and Taiwan belong to the same Beijing-ruled entity.

Hu Jintao told Mr Cheney the United States should oppose "any words or action by the Taiwan leaders attempting to change Taiwan's status quo", and urged it not to "send wrong signals to the Taiwan authorities".

Jiang Zemin, the former president who still wields considerable influence behind the scenes, also hammered the point home, telling Mr Cheney the Taiwan issue was pivotal for the development of Sino-US ties.

"The Taiwan issue concerns the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China, and is related to Sino-US relations and the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region as well," he said.

"Sino-US ties will have more room for development if the Taiwan issue is well handled." Mr Cheney's short visit to China, which took him to Shanghai later in the day, has come at a crucial time for both Beijing and Washington.

After presidential elections in Taiwan last month, China can look forward to a further four years with the independence-leaning Chen Shui-bian as the island's political leader.

China is deeply worried that Mr Chen may make irreversible moves towards a formal split with the mainland, and hopes to enlist US support to prevent this from happening. The United States is forced to listen to Beijing's views because China matters to American policies like never before, according to observers.

This is because of Beijing's growing clout in global politics, from the "war on terror" to the nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula. Just hours before Mr Cheney entered the talks, US reports suggested that North Korea's bomb-makers might have been much more successful than previously feared.

Pakistani scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan had told interrogators that he was shown three nuclear devices at a secret underground plant when he visited North Korea five years ago, The New York Times said on Tuesday. -AFP