U.S. President George W. Bush is not to cancel his attendance at the Beijing Olympics this summer, said the White House on Thursday.

"The president's position about the Olympics has been that this is not a political event but a chance for athletes to compete at the top of their class, " said presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino, asked whether the president would rethink his plans to go to this summer's Olympics after the recent riot in Tibet.

She added that Bush's position is "that this should be about the athletes and not necessarily about politics."

Bush agreed to go to the Olympics during a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Australia last September during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

A month ago, Bush told the BBC in an interview that he would attend the Beijing Olympics as scheduled. "I'm going to the Olympics. I view the Olympics as a sporting event," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2008)