China's Hu admits rights failings

At meetings with US counterpart, Chinese leader says "a lot still needs to be done" on human rights in his country. 





The US and China discussed the contentious issue of human rights amid the pomp and ceremony of a state visit that Barack Obama, the US president, has said will lay the foundation for deeper prosperity between the two nations.

Obama said he had raised various rights issues with Hu Jintao, his Chinese counterpart, during meetings on Wednesday and that the US and China had agreed to move ahead with a dialogue in that field.
"I have been very candid with President Hu about those issues," he said.

"History shows that societies are more harmonious, nations are more successful and the world is more just when the rights and responsibilities of all nations and all people are upheld."

When a reporter asked Hu about human rights, at first he did not respond, but when a second reporter followed up, Hu blamed translation and technical problems for his initial silence.
"China is always committed to the protection and promotion of human rights," he said.
But Hu also acknowledged that "a lot still needs to be done" and that Beijing was willing to have a dialogue on the issue.

Obama said he had urged China to engage in a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, and officials said he had also raised the issue of Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned Nobel peace prize winner Read More