Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Wednesday that China is always committed to protection and promotion of human rights.

Addressing a joint press conference with U.S. President Barack Obama, Hu said China has made enormous progress in human rights recognized widely in the world.

"China recognizes and respects the universality of human rights. And at the same time, we do believe that we also need to take into account the different national circumstances when it comes to the universal value of human rights," Hu said.

Noting that China is a developing country with a huge population and in a crucial stage of reform, Hu said China faces many challenges in economic and social development, and a lot still needs to be done in China in terms of human rights.

"We will continue our efforts to improve the living standard of the Chinese people and will continue our efforts to promote democracy and the rule of law in our country," Hu said.

The Chinese president said China is also willing to conduct exchanges and dialogues with other countries in terms of human rights on the basis of mutual respect and the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

"In this way, we'll be able to further increase our mutual understanding, reduce our disagreements and expand our common grounds," Hu said.

Hu made the remarks after he and Obama held talks under "candid, pragmatic and constructive atmosphere" and reached important consensus.