The mainstream media in the United States raises the issue of human rights in China whenever it gets the chance, so it was no surprise it arose again during the two-day China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which concluded on Tuesday.

Although co-chairs of the dialogue from both countries hailed their discussions as fruitful, as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remarked during a joint press briefing on Tuesday, most of the achievements may not make it to the media.

Instead, officials were again pressed about their human rights discussions, with one journalist citing events in the Middle East. Western media have long prided themselves on their objectivity and apolitical stance, but the questions prompted Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai to remind them that they should beware of those with political agendas.