'Olympics will celebrate China's progress': Miliband

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband backed China in its dispute with groups seeking to link this summer’s Beijing Olympics to progress on human rights, saying today that “engagement, not isolation” was the correct approach.

Mr Miliband said “no opportunity has been wasted” to raise rights concerns with Chinese officials during his visit, but mentioned no specific cases and said discussions on such matters shouldn’t be explicitly tied to the Games.

“We believe that the Olympics are an opportunity to celebrate the progress that has been achieved in China,” Mr Miliband told reporters following a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing.

“From our point of view, engagement, not isolation, is the right way forward,” he said.