Beijing: China has demanded the US take "effective" steps to protect the Chinese
Embassy in Iraq and help recover the items looted in the aftermath of the fall of
the Saddam Hussein-led government.
Strongly condemning the robbery at the Chinese Embassy, Foreign Ministry spokesman
Liu Jianchao said the US had the obligation to secure the properties of foreign
missions.
"China deeply regrets the anarchy caused by the war in Iraq, and strongly condemns
the robbery," Liu said in a statement.
"According to the international law, parties engaged in war have the obligation to
secure people and property of foreign Embassies and consulates," he said.
The Chinese side has proposed an "emergent negotiation" with the US, asking the
latter to take effective measures to prevent any further impingement upon the
Chinese Embassy in Iraq and recover the robbed possessions, Liu was quoted as saying
by the official Xinhua news agency.
Like other countries, China had evacuated its Embassy staff in Baghdad prior to the
commencement of the US-led military attack on Iraq on March 20.
Meanwhile, China's state-run media, which has opposed the US-led military strike on
Iraq, has carried another commentary flaying Washington for pursuing a "super-
strategic goal" to wield global hegemony.
"In its ongoing war against Iraq, the Bush administration's firm determination,
quick action, tough language and rude diplomacy are rarely seen in international
relations," the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist party, 'People's Daily'
commented.
PTI
