A "candid, open and constructive" dialogue that will help deepen mutual understanding and reduce misunderstanding, was the verdict on Wednesday on the 17th annual China-US human rights talks.

"Both sides have agreed to continue this dialogue in a spirit of equality and mutual respect," said a statement from the Chinese delegation.

During the two-day meeting, which concluded on Tuesday, the two parties updated their human rights development and exchanged ideas on a broad range of issues, including international human rights cooperation, rule of law, freedom of expression, responsibility of media, racism and discrimination against native Americans.

The talks were led by Chen Xu, a senior official for international cooperation from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and Michael Posner, US Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

Washington has always been criticizing Beijing on China's human rights situation, despite its achievements in recent years. But the two countries remain committed to the promotion and protection of human rights through more communication and exchanges, even if they still have significant differences on these issues, according to the US-China joint statement issued in 2011 during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the US.

The Chinese delegation referred to China's recently revised Criminal Procedural Law as well as the country's efforts in promoting Internet development, advancing grassroots elections and strengthening social security.

In March, China amended the Criminal Procedural Law and the phrase of "respecting and protecting human rights" is written into the revised law's first chapter.

The revised law stresses the protection of suspects and defendants from "illegal restriction, detention and arrest".

The Chinese delegation urged its American counterparts to look at China's human rights situation in an "overall, objective and fair" way, and make positive contributions to the partnership between the world's two largest economies.

"We hope the US side can respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity; respect Chinese political and judiciary system and the development path we have chosen," said the statement.

Michael Posner said on Wednesday at the Department of State briefing that both sides had been engaged "frankly and candidly" in the talks.

"It is a chance for us to engage on human rights issues and to do so in an in-depth manner, focusing both on specific issues and specific cases. It's not a negotiation," he said.

The dialogue was just one of the many channels for the administration to raise the issue with China, he added.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters earlier on Tuesday that this dialogue showed that the US relationship with China was "maturing".

"We consider that this is an integral part of all of the work we do to try to build a strong partnership and cooperation across the board with China," she said.

Representatives on the Chinese delegation came from the United Front Work Department of Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Legal Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, the Supreme Court, the State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, the State Administration of Religious Affairs and the All China Federation of Trade Unions.

The delegation also visited the US Supreme Court, the Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution, Politico, an American political journalism organization, and the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Their American counterparts included representatives from the Department of Justice, USAID, the Department of Labor, US Trade Representative, the Office of the Vice-President, National Security Staff, and the Department of State.

tanyingzi@chinadailyusa.com