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From BBC
Mr Bush called his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to raise his concerns about the unrest and to urge him to ease access for journalists and diplomats.
Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of being behind the demonstrations - the biggest against China for 20 years, which have left several people dead.
The Dalai Lama has criticised violent protests and urged dialogue with China.
The anti-China protests began on 10 March and developed into violent rioting in Lhasa.
China says 19 people have been killed by rioters incited by Tibetan separatists.
The Tibetan government-in-exile says about 140 people have been killed in a crackdown on protesters by Chinese security forces.
Delayed response
Foreign journalists have largely been blocked from covering the unrest, though China allowed a group of foreign reporters into the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Wednesday for the first time since the violence began.
The government said the group, which does not include the BBC, would be able to interview "victims of criminal acts".
The reporters were taken to Potola Square, below the traditional seat of Tibetan rulers, Potola Palace - which reopened Wednesday for the first time since 14 March, the Associated Press news agency said.
China has increased its security presence in Lhasa since the unrest
They also visited a part of the town where shops had been burned during the rioting.
"The president raised his concerns about the situation in Tibet and encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
She said Mr Bush had also called on China "to allow access for journalists and diplomats".
The BBC's Jack Izzard in Washington says the delay in Mr Bush's response is a measure of how delicate relations are between the US and China - two countries whose huge economies are deeply interlinked.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has also called for dialogue over Tibet - adding he had not ruled out boycotting the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games being held in China in August.
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband has also described international concern about the violence in Tibet as justified and proper, but he has spoken out against an Olympic boycott.
The White House has said that Mr Bush will attend the Olympic Games opening ceremony.
From BBC
Pakistan's foreign office has denied suggestions that the timing of a visit by top US diplomats is unusual.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher arrived in Pakistan early Tuesday.
It was the same day that the new PM, Yusuf Raza Gillani, was sworn in.
Pakistan is a key ally in US President George W Bush's "war on terror" and has been fighting pro-Taleban militants in tribal areas near the Afghan border.
However, the US is not held in high regard by the general public in Pakistan because of its perceived stance against Islam internationally.
'Already fixed'
Mr Negroponte and Mr Boucher are expected to proceed to Karachi for another set of meetings on Thursday.
"The visit in March was on the cards for sometime," a spokesman for the Pakistani foreign office said.
"Suggestions have been made about the timing of the visit because of the political transition in the country."
Mr Negroponte (right) and Mr Boucher met senior politicians
"However, the deputy secretary undertook the visit because his meetings and programme was already fixed."
The foreign ministry also denied there was any connection between increased US aid to the tribal areas and increased attacks in that region by Nato.
"There is no link between the two," the spokesman said.
"The US has separately committed $750m for the development of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) over the next five years."
The foreign office statements come after the Pakistani media questioned the timing of the visit.
Commentators said the timing could imply that the US was trying to influence the policies of Pakistan's new government.
"It gives the impression to the Islamic extremists... that here are the Americans, trying to dictate terms," Dawn newspaper editor Zaffar Abbas told the Associated Press news agency.
"The problem with the Americans is they don't understand the domestic pressure on the new government."
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher arrived in Pakistan early Tuesday.
It was the same day that the new PM, Yusuf Raza Gillani, was sworn in.
Pakistan is a key ally in US President George W Bush's "war on terror" and has been fighting pro-Taleban militants in tribal areas near the Afghan border.
However, the US is not held in high regard by the general public in Pakistan because of its perceived stance against Islam internationally.
'Already fixed'
Mr Negroponte and Mr Boucher are expected to proceed to Karachi for another set of meetings on Thursday.
"The visit in March was on the cards for sometime," a spokesman for the Pakistani foreign office said.
"Suggestions have been made about the timing of the visit because of the political transition in the country."
Mr Negroponte (right) and Mr Boucher met senior politicians
"However, the deputy secretary undertook the visit because his meetings and programme was already fixed."
The foreign ministry also denied there was any connection between increased US aid to the tribal areas and increased attacks in that region by Nato.
"There is no link between the two," the spokesman said.
"The US has separately committed $750m for the development of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) over the next five years."
The foreign office statements come after the Pakistani media questioned the timing of the visit.
Commentators said the timing could imply that the US was trying to influence the policies of Pakistan's new government.
"It gives the impression to the Islamic extremists... that here are the Americans, trying to dictate terms," Dawn newspaper editor Zaffar Abbas told the Associated Press news agency.
"The problem with the Americans is they don't understand the domestic pressure on the new government."
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