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China cautions US on human rights, yuan issues ahead of talks

China on Friday cautioned the United States not to be "preoccupied" with individual human rights cases when the two sides meet in Washington next week and insisted it would not be pushed on its yuan policy.

The world's two largest economies will sit down on Monday for the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue, the main forum between the two countries whose relations have become increasingly complex as China's role in the world rises.

Senior US officials said Thursday that they would raise concerns with Beijing about its human rights record - both generally and by seeking answers on specific
cases - and about what Washington sees as the undervaluing of the yuan.

But high-level Chinese officials, while acknowledging they were willing to discuss both issues, set the stage for two days of contentious talks by outlining the stark differences between the two sides.

On human rights, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told reporters that Beijing was "willing to have an exchange of views with the US and have dialogue with them on the basis of equality and mutual respect".

But he added: "I think it is advisable for the United States to pay more attention to the development of China in terms of human rights, rather than being preoccupied with individual cases".

"We also hope that the outside world, when observing China's human rights progress, will adopt a matter-of-fact approach or, to use an analogy, try to have more sunshine in viewing China's human rights approach," Cui said.

Beijing has launched its toughest crackdown on dissent in years, with scores of activists and rights lawyers rounded up, including high-profile artist Ai Weiwei, who has been in police custody for more than a month.

The United States made no tangible progress last week during an annual human rights dialogue with China, leading some activists to fear that Beijing held the meeting in hopes of avoiding the topic during the upcoming talks.

On the yuan, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said the two sides agreed on the direction of reform, but not on the pace of appreciation, with Washington putting too much emphasis on the latter.

"On these issues, to be frank with you, we have different views that make discussions necessary," Zhu told reporters, adding that exchange rate policy was China's sovereign right.

The Chinese currency has appreciated about five percent against the dollar since Beijing said last June that it would loosen its grip on the yuan.

Also on the economic agenda for the talks will be what the US perceives as a worsening business climate in China. US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke warned that China was hampering the operations of US businesses via its regulations.

12:19 | |

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