US secretary Rice presses China on Zimbabwe, human rights

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing, and called on them to back international action on Zimbabwe and lessen party controls on the internet, Reuters and AFP reported. Rice, on the second day of her two-day visit, urged China – a permanent member of the UN security council – to back UN action against Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe. On Sunday, China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held back from saying where he stood on the UN’s approach to Zimbabwe. Rice also raised the cases of several political dissidents and voiced concern that government controls on the internet "shouldn’t be something used to constrain and limit political speech."