U.S. first lady Michelle Obama defended the importance of free speech and Internet freedom in a talk in China on Saturday.

Obama spoke at the Stanford Center at Peking University in Beijing, as part of a goodwill tour in the country. In what could be seen as a criticism of China's tight grip on the Internet through its infamous "Great Firewall," which censors western websites such as Facebook, Twitter and human-rights blogs, Obama underlined the value of freedom of expression online,

"It is so important for information and ideas to flow freely over the Internet and through the media," she said, according to TIME. "Because that’s how we discover the truth, that’s how we learn what’s really happening in our communities, in our country and our world."

Obama was giving a speech to around 200 Chinese and American students, which focused mostly on the importance of studying abroad. The speech was part of a visit to China that was supposed to be nonpolitical, according to The New York Times. However, Obama's remarks on freedom of expression sent a clear message to China's government, although she stopped short of criticizing its policies directly.

"Countries are stronger and more prosperous when the voices and opinions of all their citizens can be heard," Obama said, according to The Times. "When it comes to expressing yourself freely and worshipping as you choose, and having open access to information –- we believe those are universal rights that are the birthright of every person on this planet."

Her words echoed talking points by former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who spoke about Internet freedom in January 2010. What's more, in 2011, the U.S. State Department launched its "Internet Freedom" agenda, which promotes Internet freedom worldwide, and funds censorship-circumvention tools, among other initiatives.

In his introduction to Obama, U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus also highlighted the virtues of social media in enabling better communication between cultures.

"Between texting, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat we're all interconnected," he said, according to Reuters.

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