ken lieberthal, what about that? i mean, off to a wobbly start? maybe hasn't been consistent? how do you see the obama administration handling of human rights. >> i would give them somewhat higher marks than sophie. i think the administration decided from the start that china's major power. we have an array of very, very serious issues that we have to deal with them on. nuclear proliferation. north korea. now the south china sea. a vast array of economic and trade issues. human rights issues. so the administration's approach has been quite clear from the start. we will stress human rights and push that as effectively as we can but we can't let any one of these issues, nuclear proliferation, human rights, economic and trade, whatever it is, to be a pre-condition of making progress in the other areas because each of these areas is vital for u.s. security, prosperity, and our relationships throughout the world. >> woodruff: sophie richardson, what about that point that in his view human rights can't be a pre-condition? >> well, look, i think while there are issues that don't nece

ken lieberthal is with the brookings institute. >> the u.s. and china, at least in this instance, were able to work together for an outcome satisfactory to tho both sides and mr. chen. >> reporter: the case focused international attention on the thorny issue of human right rign china. chen air, self-taught lawyer, had been imprisoned four years for speaking out against china's one-child policy and advocating for the rural poor. most recently, chen was under house arrest, where he alleges he and his family were subject to beatings. visitors were turned away. guards monitored his every movement. but last month, under the cover of darkness, chen eluded the guards and escaped with the help of other activists, he traveled 300 miles to beijing where dissidents secretly transferred chen from a van to a u.s. government car, all without being detect the by chinese surveillance. chen was given sanctuary inside the american embassy, touching off a diplomat standoff. after tense negotiations, chinese officials agreed to let chen live free of persecution,