BEIJING - China said yesterday it was considering signing two international human rights covenants, a move that would fulfil the first part of a US plan to remove a key irritant in Sino US relations. "We are actively considering these two covenants. We are actively studying and considering the question of joining," a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mr Tang Guoqiang, said at a weekly news briefing.
"As to when we would join, however, that is entirely our own affair." Mr Tang's remarks were the first official indication that China may be moving towards an agreement with the US on human rights, one of the chief strains on relations between Washington and Beijing.
The UN Human Rights Commission's meeting in Geneva in March and April is a traditional sparring ground for Washington and Beijing.