WASHINGTON  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday suggested that President Bush should skip the opening ceremonies of the Olympics to be held in August in Beijing to protest China’s actions in Tibet, its overall human rights record and its trade policies.

The speaker, a California Democrat who just returned from a meeting with the Dalai Lama in India, said Mr. Bush should consider boycotting the opening festivities, which are typically a celebration of the host country, as a way of making a statement that would not interfere with the ensuing games themselves.

“The president of the United States, if he is going to give credibility to the Chinese government, he should also take the time to say to them we are very concerned, not only about human rights, which are a very important value to us, but we are also concerned about our trade situation,” Ms. Pelsoi said in an interview.

Ms. Pelosi, a longtime critic of China, said German representatives had already said they would not attend the opening ceremonies and the idea has been raised by other foreign officials as a way to show support for Tibetans seeking more independence from China. Ms. Pelosi made it clear that she was not advocating any boycott of the sporting events themselves.