Rice tells China dissident jailing "disturbing"

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - The United States regards China's jailing of an outspoken Buddhist dissident as "deeply disturbing", U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.

Hu Jia, 34, was found guilty of "inciting subversion of state power" for criticizing the ruling Communist Party and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail on Thursday.

"There is no doubt that this is a decision that is deeply disturbing to us and we are communicating that to the Chinese authorities," Rice told a news conference at a NATO summit in Bucharest.

(reporting by Matt Spetalnick, writing by Paul Taylor)