Beijing: China today (Mar 23, 2004) summoned the US Ambassador to protest Washington's tabling of a motion critical of Beijing's Human Rights policies at the ongoing session of the UN Human Rights Conference in Geneva.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang summoned US Ambassador Clark T Randt to make a solemn representation on US' anti-China motion to the UN Human Rights Conference, the official Xinhua news agency said in a brief report.

Human Rights is one of the most sensitive subjects in Sino-US relations and Washington has tabled a number of similar motions at the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) since the 1989 Chinese Army crackdown on pro-Democracy activists at Tiananmen Square.

However, US attempts to censure China at the UN meeting have never succeeded as a result of Beijing's successful diplomacy.

Last month, the US State Department's annual report on Human Rights around the world accused China of abuses such as extra-judicial killings and torture and said authorities were "quick to suppress" religious and political groups opposed to the Government.

The report also accused China of going back on its promises on Human Rights.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, which dismissed the US report, said the document "defied basic truth and made indiscriminate criticisms on China's Human Rights record".