China Resumes Human Rights Talks with the U.S.

This morning Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi announced that China will resume discussions with the United States about human rights violations. The talks had been suspended since the U.S. urged the United Nations to condemn China's record on human rights in 2004, which China believed was an act of interference in domestic affairs. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was present in Beijing for the inauguration of the new President of South Korea on Monday. Rice also participated in talks with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in an attempt to elicit China's help in pressuring North Korea to disclose the details of its nuclear weapons program. China's response on that issue were not clear, but Rice later stated that the gesture from China was welcomed and she looked forward to future discussions on human rights with the Beijing government. She will spend Wednesday in Japan to discuss the issue of nuclear weapons in North Korea and Iran. I found this very interesting because it ties directly into the triangular relations between China, Japan, and the U.S. that we have been discussing in class. I think this may also be an important step for creating strong diplomatic relations between the 3 countries. To read more about this developing story go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/26/AR2008022600903.html?hpid=topnews