Obama to take on China on human rights?

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- China's treatment of political dissenters will be on the table when President Hu Jintao visits Washington, U.S. officials say.

Senior officials told The Washington Post President Obama is looking for ways to reach the Chinese population directly. He also wants to talk to China about its practices while getting it to help in negotiations with North Korea and Iran.

Obama spent almost an hour Thursday talking to human-rights advocates, three of them born in China, at the White House, the Post reported. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton brought up China's human-rights record in a speech at the State Department Friday.

"America will continue to speak out and press China when it censors bloggers and imprisons activists, when religious believers, particularly those in unregistered groups, are denied full freedom of worship, when lawyers and legal advocates are sent to prison simply for representing clients who challenge the government's positions," she said.

Hu is scheduled to be in Washington Tuesday to Thursday. On the night of his arrival, Obama is to host a small dinner with Clinton, national security adviser John Donilon, Hu and two of his aides.