China has done little to improve human rights this year and the government of President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) commitment to reform is unclear, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said on Thursday.
"We have been particularly disappointed by backsliding on human rights this year after a year of incremental but still unprecedented progress in 2002," Kelly told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"There is simply no other way to put it. Ongoing gross violations of human rights are a serious impediment to better relations and undermine the goodwill generated by individual releases or by other steps," he testified.
PHOTO: AP
Apart from rights issues, Kelly emphasized what he called the George W. Bush administration's "pragmatic" approach to China relations, saying there had been impressive cooperation with Beijing in the US "war on terrorism" and North Korea.
He underscored the administration's view that the US-China relationship was "the best it has been in years," but acknowledged serious differences with Beijing on a number of issues, including Taiwan, nonproliferation and a huge and expanding trade deficit.
Members of the committee pressed the Bush administration to take action to force China to reduce the trade deficit, which now exceeds US$100 billion a year.
While sympathetic, Kelly said the problems were structural and would take time to correct. He said the administration aimed for a relationship with China "based on mutual respect and focused on furthering peace and stability."
Amnesty International accused the administration of "appeasing" China.
"The administration's policy over the last three years of appeasing China and compromising on fundamental human rights have emboldened Chinese authorities to continue committing abuses," said T. Kumar, Amnesty's advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific, who also testified at the hearing.
Discussing China's President Hu, Kelly said it was "an open question about the commitment to reform."
"Above all ... I see caution and an ongoing desire not to take any moves, any false moves that are going to shatter the kind of confidence that underpins the economic growth, which I believe is a significant part of the legitimacy that the Chinese leadership clings to," he said.
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