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BEIJING: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed China's leaders on sensitive human rights issues, but said she was encouraged by their decision to hold talks with the Dalai Lama's envoys.
In meetings with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing, Rice said she raised the cases of several dissidents detained by China as well as the ruling Communist Party's controls on the Internet.
"I think that is one of the brewing issues," Rice said as she summarised their discussions on Internet freedoms.
"The Internet is becoming so ubiquitous. It shouldn't be something used to constrain and limit political speech."
Differences over the international response to the political crisis in Zimbabwe were also discussed, with Rice insisting the UN Security Council had a key role to play despite China's preference for a mainly African solution.
Rice said the talks also covered the recent progress in the long-running campaign to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes, problems in the international economy and climate change.
In brief comments at the start of their meeting, Hu thanked Rice for visiting China's earthquake-hit Sichuan province on Sunday as well as US assistance following the disaster in May that left nearly 90,000 people dead.
"This has fully demonstrated the warm feeling of the American people towards the Chinese people," Hu said.
Rice told reporters the recent unrest in Tibet was also discussed, with the top US diplomat expressing cautious optimism over Beijing's decision to hold further talks with envoys of the region's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
"I am encouraged that there at least will be a second round of talks," she said. "I hope that there will be some positive developments and some momentum behind the talks."
However she repeated that the United States did not accept China's accusations that the Dalai Lama was bent on achieving independence for his Himalayan homeland, which has been ruled by China for nearly 60 years.
"The Dalai Lama is a figure of considerable moral authority. He is a figure who has rejected violence. He is a figure who talks about cultural and religious historical autonomy," she said.
"He doesn't push for political independence."
Her comments came as the Tibetan government-in-exile said envoys of the Dalai Lama were expected to arrive in Beijing later Monday for two days of talks with Chinese officials.
The talks, which China agreed to hold amid international pressure following deadly unrest in Tibet in March, were due to be held on June 11 but were postponed following the May 12 earthquake.
A first round of the talks was held in early May.
Rice would not reveal the names of the dissidents jailed by China that she had raised with Wen and Hu, saying she preferred to wait until there had been some action from the Chinese side on their cases.
However in an indication of some of the people potentially raised in their conversations, Rice said she had discussed the issue of restrictions on Internet bloggers in China.
Dozens of bloggers have reportedly been detained by China for expressing views critical of the Chinese government.
China has been under sustained pressure to improve its human rights record ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.
But critics have said the government has gone in reverse and extended enormous efforts to quell dissent in the lead up to the Games.
Rice's talks with China's leaders came on the second and final day of her trip to China, which was the last stop on a three-nation tour to Asia.
She had visited Japan last week for the meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) foreign ministers before going on to South Korea, where the North's nuclear disarmament issue was the top focus.
- AFP/jk
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