BEIJING (AP) -- China responded Thursday to a U.S. report critical of its human rights record by releasing its own review attacking America's rights record as ''tattered and shocking.''

The State Council, or Cabinet, released the report two days after the U.S. State Department took China to task for widespread human rights violations.

China's report criticized violent crime in the U.S., its large prison population and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

''It is high time for the U.S. government to face its own human rights problems with courage...and give up the unwise practices of applying double standards on human rights issues and using it to suppress other countries,'' the report said.

Washington's report this week detailed China's increased attempts to control and censor the Internet and tighten restrictions on the media and freedom of speech.

''China's overall human rights record remains poor,'' the U.S. report said.

The U.S. report gave a chilling account of alleged torture in China, including the use of electric shocks, beatings, shackles, and other forms of abuse. The report also details claims by citizens forced from their homes to make way for Olympic Games projects in Beijing.

China has voiced strong opposition to the State Department report, saying China respects and safeguards human rights.

''The efforts and remarkable achievement China has made on the issue have already been widely recognized by the international community,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement on the ministry's Web site.

''We suggest the U.S. government to stop depicting itself as a human rights watchdog and focus more on its own human rights problems,'' Qin said.

He said China was willing to have dialogue on human rights with the U.S. and other countries.

On Thursday, U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson replied that the U.S. is ''open to constructive criticism of its record.''

''Issues countries have raised regarding the United States' actions are mirrored in the active debate of our government, free press, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) and civil society. They're a testimony to our commitment to a free, open democratic society,'' she said.

''The United States looks forward to the day when Chinese press, NGOs and civil society are allowed to operate freely and to voice open criticism of China's practices.''

The tit-for-tat charges come less than five months before Beijing hosts the Olympic Games, which have already put the spotlight on China's human rights record.

The reports also come as the two countries' economies become increasingly entwined and amid increased political cooperation between the U.S. and China on international problems, including efforts to strip North Korea of its nuclear program.

Beijing's report, gathered from a variety of international news sources, lambastes an increase in violent crime in the U.S., saying it poses a serious threat to the lives, liberty and personal security of the American people.

The report concluded the U.S. human rights records is ''best described as tattered and shocking.''

It cited an FBI report on crime statistics in the U.S. released last year that showed violent crime had increased by 1.9 percent from 2005 to 2006, with 1.41 million cases reported nationwide.

The report also cited news articles that said 30,000 people die in the U.S. from gunshot wounds every year and gun killings have climbed 13 percent since 2002.

It noted the United States has the largest prison system in the world, with the highest inmates-to-population ratio. The report cited police brutality and other instances where law enforcement officials violated civil rights.

China's report also lambasted the U.S. for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

''The invasion of Iraq by U.S. troops has produced the biggest human rights tragedy and the greatest humanitarian disaster in modern world,'' the report said.

It also said U.S. troops had killed innocent civilians in the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan.