ABC Radio Australia

China has expressed anger over a meeting between US President George W Bush and a prominent exiled Uighur Muslim accused by Beijing of secessionist activities.

Mr Bush met Tuesday with Rebiya Kadeer, the symbol of struggle for ethnic Uighurs in China's far northwest Xinjiang region, and criticised Beijing's treatment of her.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, says the actions of the US amount to blatant interference in China's internal affairs.

Ms Kadeer spent six years in prison in China for leaking "state secrets" to a US congressional delegation visiting Xinjiang in the 1990s.

She was released in March 2005 and allowed into exile in the United States, from where she continues to speak up for her people.

The 10 million mostly Muslim Uighurs are the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang.