US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that the US will apply "principled pragmatism" to its approach to human rights issues in China and Russia, AFP reported. She said cooperation with the two countries is key on issues such as nuclear non-proliferation, North Korea, Iran and climate change and therefore seeks "positive relations." However, she also called for China to protect minority rights in Tibet and Xinjiang and to allow more freedom of expression and worship. "The assumption that we must either pursue human rights or our ‘national interests’ is wrong," she said. "The assumption that only coercion and isolation are effective tools for advancing democratic change is also wrong."
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