US: China Human Rights \'Deteriorating\'

The US has called on China to address its ''deteriorating'' human rights situation following an annual dialogue. Cases involving activists, lawyers and bloggers were raised at the talks, Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner told reporters at a briefing. Beijing said it was willing to continue talks ''on the basis of equality and mutual respect'', the (BBC) reported Thursday citing China's (Xinhua) official news agency. The two-day, closed-door session took place in Washington. "The overall human rights situation in China continues to deteriorate," Posner said. "Our message to the Chinese government is you've made progress on the economic front, this is the moment to open up the space to allow people to dissent, to question government actions and to do so without fear of retribution,'' he added. He said the US raised issues regarding ethnic and religious minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang with the Chinese delegation.