AUSTIN, Texas, May 25 (UPI) -- Texas Gov. George W. Bush says a congressional report that shows China has been stealing U.S. nuclear weapons secrets for 20 years is evidence of the Clinton Administration's ``failed policies toward China.'' Bush said, ``Presented with detailed information about China's espionage, this administration apparently did not take it seriously, did not react properly and is still trying to minimize the scope and extent of the damage done.'' Bush, the unannounced front-runner for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, wasted little time responding to the Cox report that was released today in Washington. Bush had previously been stung by criticism that he was not speaking out on foreign policy issues, particularly the U.S.-led NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia. The Cox report -- produced by a bipartisan committee of five Republicans and four Democrats -- concluded that China will exploit the information it stole in future weapons designs. Bush says the thefts ``dramatically accelerated'' China's emergence as a major nuclear power, resulting in ``major implications for United States foreign policy.'' He also took issue with Clinton's characterization of China as a strategic partner, saying: ``China is not America's strategic partner. China is a competitor, a competitor which does not share our values but now, unfortunately, shares many of our nuclear secrets.'' Although the Cox reports says China's spying took place over the last 20 years, Bush refused to lay blame on any other president during that period, including his father, former President George Bush. Gov. Bush argued that espionage is a ``fact of life'' for every president. ``What's different,'' he said, ``is that this is the first administration where they knew and did nothing about it.''  