Editor's Note

China and US have wrapped up two days of talks on human rights Wednesday.

The 17th dialogue is hosted by Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and Chen Xu, director general with the Department of International Organizations and Conferences under China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The US is not likely to put greater pressure on China, despite recent individual cases that have drawn a lot of attention, analysts say.

Highlights

Source: Global Times

Voices

	The Chinese government stated that China is willing to discuss and exchange views on human rights issues with the US on the basis of equality and mutual respect, according to a news release from the foreign ministry on Friday, Xinhua reported. Source: Global Times
	US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters the US would raise the rule of law, justice for individuals, equality and Tibet. She said Washington's ability to broach such issues with Beijing "speaks to the maturing of our relationship." Source: AP

Experts’ voices:

Liu Weidong, a researcher at the Institute of American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

If we put this under the larger context of China-US relations, we can expect the dialogue to be fairly routine, much like in the past few years.

Human rights issues are not really a priority with US politicians, as they are much more concerned with their economy and security strategy.

The US is more concerned over whether China will pose a threat to its role in the Asia Pacific, or if the territorial disputes in the region might affect its strategic deployment here.

Yu Wanli, associate professor at the School of International Studies, Peking University

But over the years, China and the US, as well as other countries, have established such a mechanism to avoid confrontation, and instead work out their differences through dialogue.

Media Comments

	US, China hold two days of human rights talks The United States and China opened two days of talks on human rights Monday, with Washington set to raise numerous issues including Tibet and the case of dissident Chen Guangcheng.
	US, China wrap up annual human rights dialogue The annual dialogue gives Washington a chance to broach thorny issues that are a perennial sore point in US relations with Beijing, including its treatment of democracy activists and repression in Tibet.
	US, China begin annual human rights dialogue The US and China began their annual human rights dialogue Monday that gives Washington a chance to broach thorny issues but also demonstrates its limited leverage with Beijing. China, US to begin next round of human rights talks in Washington on Monday The exchanges have become a regular fixture in China-US relations along with recurring economic and policy dialogues. But they haven’t produced any significant narrowing of differences on human rights.
	Human rights talks begin The US will continue its preaching on human rights issues during the two-day session of the China-US Human Rights Dialogue in Washington, D.C. that concludes on Wednesday, but it is not likely to put greater pressure on China, despite recent individual cases that have drawn a lot of attention, analysts say.

Review of Sino-US   Human Rights Dialogue

1. When the dialogue first started in 1990, human rights were a touchy subject and China was under a lot of pressure from the international community.

2. The dialogue was suspended between 2003 and 2008 after the US proposed anti-China bills to the UN.

3. In 2010, China and the United States wrapped up a two-day dialogue on human rights in Washington, D.C. on May 14 and agreed to hold the next round of dialogue in China next year.

During the dialogue meetings, the two sides briefed each other on new progress made in the field of human rights in their respective countries and had an in-depth exchange of views on issues of mutual concern, including cooperation on human rights at the United Nations, the rule of law, freedom of expression, labor rights and anti-racism, according to a press release by the Chinese delegation.

4. In 2011, The last round of human rights talks, which was held in Beijing in April last year, discussed a wide range of issues of common concern, including new developments in both countries regarding human rights.

Source: Global Times-China.org.cn

China’s efforts to advance human rights

To show its commitment to advancing human rights, China published two national action plans on human rights in 2009 and 2012.

In 2009:
Full Text: Progress in China's Human Rights in 2009 
In 2009 the Chinese government promulgated and implemented the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010). This was the first national action plan in China with human rights as the theme. It is a programmatic document for directing and promoting the comprehensive development of China's human rights.

In 2012:
Human rights plan released
The Chinese government released its second national plan for human rights protection on June 11, mapping out goals, tasks and measures to promote the dignity of all citizens.

The National Human Rights Action Plan, which addresses human rights protection from 2012 to 2015, continues to put people's rights to survival as a priority and focuses on improving people's livelihood.

US moves of human rights concerning China

1. Compared with the Bush administration, when Congress passed several human rights bills concerning China, the Obama administration has not done anything similar.

In 2009, during her first visit to China as Secretary of State, Clinton played down human rights and said that she hoped such issues would not stand in the way of other, broader topics.

2. Recently the US released its "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011," which was covered globally. The US has long played the role as the world's human rights judge, and its latest report was filled with over-critical remarks on the state of human rights in more than 190 countries and regions.

High-profile incident that strained Sino-US relations:

During the past year, several cases have occurred that involved the US or attracted attention, threatening to strain relations between the two countries, for example, the incident that involves blind activist Chen Guangcheng.

Chen Guangcheng expected to study in US

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