When U.S. officials meet with their Chinese counterparts, worker rights is not a priority issue, said Thea Lee, deputy chief of staff for giant trade union the AFL-CIO. U.S. government leaders need to press the Chinese to allow workers to organize their own unions, she said. The U.S. can put pressure on China by threatening to close off its market to Chinese goods, she said.

Representative Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, promised to push President Barack Obama's administration to stress worker rights in talks with China. "Workers rights are systematically violated, and are among the many human rights abused by the Chinese government at all levels," he said. "While touting itself as an economic superpower, [China continues] to violate worker rights with impunity."

The IDG News Service