China refutes the report titled "Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: the US Record 2002-2003" published by the US State Department, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan in Beijing Friday.

When asked to comment on the recent report, which criticizes the human rights situations of over 90 countries and regions, including China, and summarizes US efforts to promote human rights, Kong said the document, like the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the US State Department in March, unfairly reprimands the Chinese government for no reason and portrays China's human rights situation in a negative light.

The Chinese government upholds the promotion and protection of human rights, basic freedoms and the democratic political construction of socialism in a consistent manner and has won recognition in this regard, he said, adding that the Chinese government and people are building a brighter future with full confidence.

China advises the United States to devote more attention to its own problems, including improving its own human rights situation, and to refrain from intervening in others' domestic affairs under the pretext of human rights, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2003)