With Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing at her side, Rice told a joint news conference she had brought up several human rights issues during their meeting, whose main aim was to discuss North Korea and Iran's nuclear programmes.

Rice did not provide specific details, but a prominent case that rights groups have said tops US concerns is that of New York Times researcher Zhao Yan, who was sentenced in August to three years in prison on fraud charges.

In addition, the United States has been pressing for the release of Boston-based democracy campaigner Yang Jianli, who was arrested in 2002 after stealing into China.

"We talked about human rights issues and the importance of several cases," said Rice, who is on the last leg of her Asian trip to discuss North Korea. She is due in Moscow on Saturday.

Yang, who has doctorates from the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, had lived in the United States for more than a decade but opted not to take US citizenship.

The top US diplomat said the cases she raised and other human rights issues would be discussed in further meetings.

China sees US criticism of its human rights record as an attempt to interfere in its domestic affairs. While it has given its people greater economic and political freedoms in recent years, it has also clamped down on critics.

Li, who did not allow any questions at the news conference, countered he had raised his own list of human rights issues with the United States.

"I also gave her a list of two cases involving two Chinese citizens," he said without providing details.