China crackdown to come under scrutiny at U.N. rights review

China's President Xi Jinping attends a signing ceremony with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Great Hall of People in Beijing September 18, 2013. REUTERS/Feng Li/Pool

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's human rights record under President Xi Jinping will come under formal international scrutiny on Tuesday for the first time since he took power, with the main U.N. rights forum set to hear accusations that the government is expanding a crackdown on dissent.

The United Nations Human Rights Council, which reviews all U.N. members every four years, will give concerned countries a chance to challenge the administration of Xi, who some experts had thought would be less hardline than his predecessors.