Wen's visit to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls -- where petitioners go to file complaints with authorities -- was the first such trip by a premier since the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949, state media said.

Amid rising levels of public protest across China, Wen's conversations with unhappy citizens received widespread coverage in print and broadcast media, but Human Rights Watch called them a political show.

Under a system dating from imperial times, Chinese people can petition government authorities in Beijing or provincial capitals over injustices or unresolved disputes such as illegal land grabs or police misconduct.

However, many such petitioners complain of official unresponsiveness to their concerns and occasionally lash out in frustration, while others report being detained by authorities in so-called "black jails".

The premier -- sometimes called "Grandpa Wen" for his down-to-earth style that resonates with China's ordinary people -- said during Monday's visit that as long as their complaints were "reasonable", they would be resolved.

"We should use the power in our hands to serve the interests of the people, helping them to tackle difficulties in a responsible way," Wen said, shaking hands with those filling in forms and queueing to submit their papers.

He spoke to citizens from several provinces, and emphasised for those involved in land disputes that new government rules aimed at ending illegal forced demolitions should help protect the rights of property owners.

"Land is the lifeline of farmers," Wen said.

The government is gearing up for its annual session of parliament, which will begin in early March, and Wen's visit to the petition office signals a government conscious of public anger.

Land disputes have become China's most volatile social problem as officials and developers seek to cash in on the nation's property boom, sometimes forcing people out of their homes without proper compensation.

Chinese President Hu Jintao came under pressure last week during a state visit to the United States to do better on human rights, with President Barack Obama saying the "universal rights of every human being" had to be upheld.

Hu admitted "a lot" needed to be done in China in terms of human rights but emphasised the "different national circumstances" that needed to be considered.

Human Rights Watch criticised Wen's visit as a carefully orchestrated move that "will be widely propagated to Chinese citizens through state media with the explicit message that the Chinese Communist Party leadership cares".

"The fact is that the system is broken and that petitioners are far too often subject to abuses even greater than those which prompted them to petition in the first place," the New York-based group said in a statement sent to AFP.

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