West criticises, China defends human rights record at U.N.

Members of the Students for a Free Tibet organisation display a banner on scaffolding in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva October 22, 2013. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

GENEVA/BEIJING (Reuters) - Western countries accused China on Tuesday of arresting activists, curbing Internet use and suppressing ethnic minorities, as the United Nations formally reviewed its rights record for the first time since Xi Jinping became president.

The United Nations Human Rights Council, which reviews all U.N. members every four years, convened in Geneva, where sharply opposing views of China's human rights record were exposed.