The US and China held in-depth and frank discussions on human rights issues during the recently concluded dialogue between the two countries, a State Department official has said.
“The two sides held in-depth and frank discussions on the rule of law, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and other human rights issues, including specific cases of concern,” State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said.
The US-China Human Rights dialogue was held at Kunming in China this week by interagency delegations led by Uzra Zeya, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of International Organisations and Conferences Director-General Li Junhua.
“The Human Rights Dialogue is an opportunity to reinforce the messages, including on specific cases that we consistently deliver at the highest levels on these issues,” Harf said.
“We believe that this is a continuous conversation, it is important to continue having it, because obviously human rights is a key tenet of US foreign policy,” said Harf.