US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, a tough critic of China's human rights record, visited Shanghai's financial centre Monday, after meeting a leading Chinese Catholic priest.
Pelosi, who has been outspoken on Beijing's rule over Tibet, arrived in China Sunday with a delegation from US Congress and was due to meet national leaders in the nation's capital later.
At the start of her week-long visit, one of her first stops in Shanghai was to visit Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian, 93, one of China's most influential Catholic priests.
"Our visit with the bishop yesterday was so remarkable," Pelosi told Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng.
"He gave us words of wisdom for us to come and see for ourselves what is happening here. What changes have taken place, and what the prospects are for the future," she said.
Pelosi's visit comes a week before the 20th anniversary of the government crackdown that crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
Like US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited China in February, Pelosi did not make any public statements about human rights, choosing instead to focus on strengthening the two countries' relationship.
"We've seen Shanghai by land and by sea and cyberspace, in every way, it's a joy. Congratulations to you on your success," she told Han.
The House's first female speaker, Pelosi's criticism of Chinese rule in Tibet has drawn the wrath of Beijing, which has called her words foreign interference in its internal affairs.
In March last year, when riots against Chinese rule erupted in Lhasa, Tibet's capital, and spread to nearby provinces, Pelosi urged "freedom-loving people" in the world to "speak out against China's oppression in Tibet."
In October 2008, she commended the European Parliament for its "bold decision" to award the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia.
The Congressional delegation is due to leave China Sunday.
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