Beijing: As a US-led war against Iraq appeared imminent, the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad on March 17 began evacuating its staff and Chinese reporters.

Chinese Ambassador to Iraq, Zhang Weiqiu and other six Embassy officials began evacuating "amid a tense atmosphere of a looming war", the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The evacuation also includes six Chinese correspondents -- two from Xinhua, three from China Central Television and one from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

"Large numbers of foreign journalists are also packing up," Xinhua said.

Earlier on March 17, newly appointed Foreign Minister Li Zhoxing said the Iraq issue should be solved through dialogue within the United Nations framework.

China, in February itself, had asked its citizens to withdraw from Iraq and had evacuated non-essential Embassy staff.

Late in February, Air China suspended its operations to Kuwait - the only flight the Chinese flag carrier had to the Gulf region.

PTI