UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A watchdog group today urged the U.N. human rights chief to postpone a trip to China, saying a visit now would undermine other international efforts to promote human rights there.

A spokeswoman for Jose Ayala Lasso, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said Tuesday that the commissioner has accepted a government invitation to visit China.

No date or itinerary had yet been set, said spokeswoman Therese Gastaut in Geneva. Beijing issued the invitation last year, she said.

In New York, Human Rights Watch said Lasso should postpone the trip until after next month's session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.

"Whatever your intentions and no matter what you do or say while in China, your visit will be used and seen as an effort to avoid a resolution on China in Geneva," the group said in a letter to Ayala Lasso.

"We strongly urge you to postpone the trip," the letter said.

Ayala Lasso, a former Ecuadorean defense minister, has developed a reputation for low-key diplomacy. He rarely criticizes nations' human rights records in public a stance that has won him favor among nations such as China.

A recent U.S. State Department report accused the Chinese government of stamping on human rights and smashing all dissent.

China says it has no political prisoners, that living conditions for average Chinese have greatly improved since the 1949 Communist takeover and that international criticism of its human rights record constitutes interference in its internal affairs.

It has repeatedly warned the United States against backing a motion on Chinese human rights at the U.N. commission, saying that such motions are confrontational and not conducive to discussion.

Thanks to backing from other developing countries in the 53-nation commission, China has so far managed to avoid formal criticism.

Human Rights Watch said that when Ayala Lasso does visit China, he should seek the release of all nonviolent prisoners jailed for their beliefs and ask to see several dissidents who are in poor health, such as Wei Jingsheng and Wang Dan, and make a special plea for their release.

The group also urged Ayala Lasso to insist on free access to all of China and Tibet for journalists and human rights workers.