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China, Australia hold 13th dialogue on human rights

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China and Australia held their 13th dialogue on human rights in Beijing Monday, agreeing to continue to discuss and cooperate on the subject.

China's Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai (R) and Heather Smith, Deputy Secretary of Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade attend a press conference after the 13th China-Australia Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 20, 2010. [Ding Lin/Xinhua]

Cui Tiankai, China's vice foreign minister, and Heather Smith, deputy secretary of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, co-chaired the dialogue.

The two sides briefed each other on progress made in safeguarding and promoting human rights, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

Both sides also exchanged views on each other's moves to protect human rights and international cooperation in human rights.

The two sides assessed the technological cooperation programs concerning human rights over the past year and expressed satisfaction with the achievements made in the cooperation, the statement said.

The dialogue was conducted in a "friendly, candid, and constructive" manner, the statement added.

"The dialogue was not created for the two countries to trade accusations but to increase mutual understanding," Cui told a press briefing after the dialogue.

For the human rights dialogue to be effective, China and Australia have to discard stereotypes, Cui said, adding that both sides should not believe that their own ideas are better than the other's.

Noting that China and Australia have vastly different national circumstances, Cui called for the two sides to conduct human rights dialogues on the basis of mutual respect.

The China-Australia human rights dialogue, which was initiated in 1997, aims to enhance mutual trust and find concrete way to cooperate on relevant issues.