China heads off US questions on human rights

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

The Chinese president, Hu Jintao, has held out the prospect of a clash with President Barack Obama over human rights when the two meet at the White House on Wednesday.

Hu, in a rare interview with the western media, told the Washington Post that the US and China should respect each other's route to development – code for not interfering in each other's domestic agenda. The White House said last week that Obama would raise the issue of China's poor human rights record at the meeting.

Hu arrives in Washington for the start of a four-day visit to the US on Tuesday. Since Obama became president in January 2009, he has pivoted US foreign policy to make Asia in general and China in particular his main priority.

For the first time in US history, Washington now regards Asia as more important than Europe, a recognition of Beijing's increasing influence in the Pacific and round the world.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/16/china-us-questions-human-rights

[molly77]

1. There should be agreement on human rights

Since we did away with Habeas Corpus. Have a gov. who will let a prisoner out of jail for her kidney. Sheesh.Gitmo. Black holes all over Europe where we torture and kill people like Gitmo.

[ixion]

2. Neither nation has any room to criticize the other. BOTH nations commit

horrible Human Rights violations on a daily basis, and without guilt or fear of reprisal.

The UN should sanction BOTH nations for such things.