China has agreed to invite United Nations experts on torture and religious freedom to visit the country, the US State Department has said.

China has been criticised for a rise in executions following 11 September

The US said China's agreement came during two days of human rights dialogue in Beijing between the two nations.

China has also invited a representative from a UN working group on arbitrary detention.

China has not formally commented on the invitations, but Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said that the two days of talks had been "constructive and fruitful".

"The exchange of views was extensive and in depth and it narrowed the different positions of the two sides and enhanced mutual understanding," he said.

Correspondents say the unconditional invitations are seen as a significant step, because although the rapporteur on torture had previously been invited, Beijing had attached restrictions.

Improving human rights

The visits and reports which will follow would be part of a UN-regulated process and China would be required to address any findings, French news agency AFP reported.

US assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour Lorne Craner said China's decision to allow the experts to visit proved that China's communist government is serious about trying to improve its human rights record.

"You usually don't invite those people unless you're serious about addressing the issues they will raise," he told the Associated Press news agency.

However he added that further talks would not be scheduled until the US found that firm progress had been made.

"We are not looking at these releases as a short-term [presidential] summit-based thing, but it is an all around thing, we've had 10 prisoners released over the last year," he said.

Criticism

The Human Rights Watch organisation in Washington told the BBC that previous negotiations between the Chinese authorities and the UN rapporteur on torture and ill-treatment had stalled over disagreements about the specific locations to be inspected.

During the talks, the US also handed over a list of 298 prisoners in Chinese jails that it believes are being held as political prisoners and urged Beijing to review their cases.

China has long faced criticism for its poor human rights record, and in its annual report this May Amnesty International said a campaign against crime in China had led to a massive increase in executions - even for crimes such as bribery, tax fraud and selling harmful foods.

It also said there had been "a new wave of executions of people labelled as 'separatists' or 'terrorists' in since the 11 September attacks last year.