"We take these reports seriously. And we're going to look into them," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

McCormack was responding to reporters' questions about information from the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), relayed to Washington through the US-based AIDS victim group Critical Path.

CHRD reportedly said that Chinese authorities placed numerous activists under increased surveillance ahead of talks in Beijing this week between US and Chinese officials, the first such dialogue on human rights since 2002.

Among the cases cited by Chinese activists was Zeng Jinyan, who is a blogger, activist and wife of jailed dissident Hu Jia. She reportedly was visited on Friday and Saturday by authorities who barred her from leaving the house.

"They told her that she would not be allowed to leave her home and that they would watch her even more closely because 'a US delegation wants to meet you,'" CHRD said.

Hu Jia, 34, is an AIDS activist and advocate of the environment and free speech. He was sentenced in April to three and a half years in prison for publishing online articles that were critical of the government and giving interviews to members of the foreign media.

"I can't comment on the specific substance of each and every one of these reports right now, but we do look into them," McCormack said.

"And based on the facts, as we are able to collect them, I'm sure that they will be part of the human rights dialogue that we have coming up."

A US envoy in Beijing said the resumption of talks was "constructive," noting that rights issues "have been a source of tension in our relationship."

The two nations began a human rights dialogue in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre that saw Chinese troops violently crush pro-democracy protests, resulting in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

However, the dialogue was suspended after the United States tabled a resolution at the United Nations condemning the communist government's human rights record.

The United States says its aim is to convince China to improve its human rights record ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing later this year.

earlier related report
US says human rights talks with China 'constructive'
The United States held "constructive" talks with China on a wide range of human rights issues, a US envoy said here Tuesday as he praised the communist government for its earthquake response.

China and the United States held two days of talks on human rights in Beijing, the first of their kind since a dialogue was suspended in 2002 amid US criticism at the United Nations over Beijing's rights record.

"We're encouraged by the resumption of dialogue and we look forward to its continuation," David Kramer, the head of the US team, told reporters after the talks.

"Human rights have been a source of tension in our relationship. We want to turn it into a more positive factor," the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour told reporters.

He said the "constructive and productive" talks touched on media and Internet freedoms, "prisoners of concern" and freedom of religion, as well as the situations in Tibet and the Muslim-majority Xinjiang region.

Kramer restated the US position for China to improve its human rights record ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.

"We view the Olympic Games as an opportunity for China to put its best face forward. Progress in human rights would certainly help in this area," Kramer said.

But he also struck a very positive tone on other issues, saying the Chinese government's response to the devastating May 12 earthquake in southwest China was a "model for many other countries to follow".

"The government responded in a very remarkable way. This has brought China closer together and it has also brought other countries closer to China," he said.

Kramer met Monday with Wu Hailong, director of the international department of the Chinese foreign ministry, ministry spokesman Qin Gang told journalists earlier Tuesday.

"Disputes on human rights should be settled in a constructive manner and there should be no double standards or interference in the internal affairs of the other," Qin quoted Wu as saying during the talks.

The two nations began the human rights dialogue in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre that saw Chinese troops violently crush pro-democracy protests, resulting in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

However the dialogue was suspended after the United States tabled a resolution at the United Nations condemning the communist government's human rights record.

The United States dropped China from its list of the world's worst human rights violators in March.

However a few days later protests broke out in the Himalayan region of Tibet against Chinese rule. China's massive security crackdown against the protesters sparked international condemnation.

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