Rice raises concern over military, rights during China visit

Rice raises concern over military, rights during China visit

Cindy Sui, Agence France-Presse/Beijing

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left Beijing on Sunday calling U.S.-Sino relations positive and reiterating Washington's view that China is not a threat, but raised concerns with China's leaders over the country's military buildup, copyright violations and human rights.

Despite rows over Chinese textile exports, the surging U.S. trade deficit with China and the Chinese currency's inflexibility, Rice, who is on a four-nation Asian tour that takes her next to Thailand, said relations were "complex" but good.

"There are many extremely positive elements. I still think that this relationship has a great momentum. It still has more positives than negatives," Rice told a news briefing after meeting Chinese leaders.

At the same time, Rice said she raised concerns over the impact on the region of China's massive military buildup, saying the United States was "no doubt" concerned over its size and pace. "(But) this does not mean that we view China as a threat,' she said.

Still, tensions with Taiwan -- the region's most likely military flashpoint -- remain a worry, Rice said, urging Beijing to reach out to the island's elected leadership.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, threatening to invade if the island moves towards formal independence, but has recently courted Taiwan's opposition parties, inviting two key leaders to visit China.

Rice called those meetings "a good thing," but said that Washington hoped Beijing "would extend to contacts with the elected government of Taiwan".

In response, Chinese President Hu Jintao told Rice that Beijing was determined to improve cross-strait relations, but also urged Washington to remain vigilant for "secessionist" forces pushing for independence, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The effects of Asia's largest economy were also high on the talks agenda, with U.S. lawmakers and businesses stepping up pressure on China recently over the trade deficit and its pegged currency, which the U.S. blames for giving China an unfair trade advantage and contributing to the loss of U.S. jobs.

The aggressive bid by Chinese state-owned oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) for California-based Unocal has sparked further U.S. worries of China's growing economic clout.

"A growing Chinese economy is a good thing. (But) it needs to do so within the context of rules," Rice said on Sunday.

"The rules-based WTO framework into which China has entered is the only way to assure that an economy of this size has a good effect on the international economy as a whole."

She said she emphasized, particularly to Premier Wen Jiabao, the importance of safeguarding intellectual property rights. Copyright violations are estimated to cost U.S. businesses billions of dollars annually.

Yet while the Chinese economy is transitioning in ways "that are sometimes problematic" for the American economy, Rice said trade ties are still "very healthy, robust and active".

In meetings with Chinese leaders, Rice said she also raised concerns about human rights and religious freedom, including individual cases, but did not elaborate.

She said she urged China to "reach out to the Dalai Lama", saying the exiled Tibetan leader was "really of no threat to China".

Her comments came on the heels of the first ever talks between the Dalai Lama's envoys and Beijing outside Chinese soil.

China's cooperation in fighting terrorism and in helping to convince North Korea to return to multilateral nuclear crisis talks later this month further boosted bilateral ties, Rice said.

President Hu said China highly valued its relations with the United States, adding that "China is ready to work along with the United States to strengthen dialogue, mutual trust and cooperation, respect and care for each other's concerns, in an effort to make the bilateral relations achieve greater progress," Xinhua reported.

Rice's visit to China is her second in three months. As well as Thailand, she will also make stops in Japan and South Korea.