China slams 'improper' remarks for Liu

Xiaobo Liu's death has triggered widespread criticism of his treatment and calls from the West for China to release his wife, angering Beijing.

China has rejected foreign criticism of Beijing's handling of the illness from which imprisoned Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo died.

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing, in an early morning statement on Friday, said China made "all-out efforts" to treat Liu after he was diagnosed with liver cancer while in prison.

Liu died in hospital on Thursday.

The statement said foreign countries "are in no position to make improper remarks" over the handling of Liu's case, which Beijing sees as a domestic affair.

Liu's death has triggered a flurry of calls from Western governments and officials for Beijing to let his wife leave China as she wishes.

Human rights groups and some governments had earlier urged Beijing to release Liu so that he could seek treatment abroad, but China rebuffed such suggestions, saying he was already getting the best care possible.