Rice Presses China On Human Rights Record Ahead Of Olympics

Beijing, China (AHN) - In an effort to improve its image before this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, China announced its intention to resume regular human rights dialogue with the United States, which it suspended in 2004 following the U.S.' sponsorship of a Geneva-based UN resolution condemning China's record.

The announcement was made by China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in Beijing on Tuesday, following a stop in Seoul on Monday for the inauguration ceremony of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Rice, who met with Chinese leaders Yang, Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao on Tuesday, pushed China on a number of issues, including pressing North Korea for more transparency on their nuclear program, renewing its commitment to human rights, and curbing its ties to the Sudanese government.

Reading from a prepared statement, Foreign Minister Yang expressed China's desire to comply with internationally accepted human rights standards while at the same time urging the West to respect China's sovereignty.

"We are willing to resume the human rights dialogue. We are willing to have exchanges and discussions on human rights with the United States and other countries on the basis of mutual respect, equality and non-interference," Yang said.

The meeting between Rice and Yang comes amid increased criticism of China's human rights record, including urging a boycott of the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing by some Western activists over China's suppression of dissidents and its hesitation to press Sudan on allowing deployment of U.N. and African Union peacekeeping in the war-ravaged Darfur region.