BEIJING March 20 —
China demanded Thursday that military action against Iraq stop
immediately and said the initial attack was "violating the norms of
international behavior."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said the beginning of the
attack took place "in disregard for the opposition of the
international community."
"Military action against Iraq is violating the norms of
international behavior," Kong said at a regular news briefing. "We
express regret and disappointment."
He said China continues to maintain that "the Iraq question can
be solved peacefully."
In a phone conversation late Thursday, Chinese State Councilor
Tang Jiaxuan told U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that China
"strongly urged an end to military actions against Iraq so as to
avoid hurting innocent people," the official Xinhua News Agency
reported.
Tang also told Powell that China is "deeply worried about
humanitarian disasters, regional turbulence" and other ramifications
of the war, the report said.
China has long opposed the war and says it wants the problem of
Iraq's weapons to be dealt with by the U.N. Security Council, not
just the United States. China is a permanent council member with
veto power.
"We urge the relevant countries to stop using force, to stop
military action," Kong said. "The Iraqi question must return to the
track of political settlement within the U.N. framework."
He didn't immediately say what, if anything, China's leaders
might do in protest, but stressed that they would "take their own
actions to reflect" the country's goals.
He also appealed to other countries to step in.
"We are deeply concerned about the loss of lives and property
that might follow. We are also worried about its impact on peace and
the development of the world."
Kong did not mention the United States by name in answering
reporters' questions, referring only to "the relevant
countries."
China's response had a milder tone than it could have had, said
Zhang Yebai, a government adviser on U.S. policy with the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.
"I think the word choice the language we used was pretty
restrained, pretty limited," Zhang said.
Making a formal protest or describing the action as an "invasion"
would have registered a tougher stance, he said.
Beijing's response was calculated not to offend because President
Hu Jintao and other newly installed leaders don't want friction with
the United States to disrupt Beijing's focus on its economy and
dealing with civil unrest, he said.
China closed its embassy in Iraq and withdrew all personnel
Tuesday, Kong said.
Beijing would soon be talking to other countries about what to do
next, he said.
State television ran unprecedented live coverage of the first
U.S. and British attack as it unfolded, signaling intense concern
among Beijing's new leaders.
The initial action in Iraq which took place Thursday morning in
Beijing presents Hu and his new government with an immediate foreign
policy crisis.
Security cordons tightened Thursday around foreign diplomatic
installations in China, including the U.S. and Iraqi embassies.
In Beijing's diplomatic district this week, extra guards have
been posted outside embassies and streets closed to vehicle traffic.
Paramilitary police demanded identification and barred taxis from
entering compounds that house diplomats and foreign journalists.
On Thursday morning, barricades went up in front of the Iraqi
Embassy in Beijing. The American and Iraqi embassies are just three
blocks away from each other here.
Kong said "the entire Chinese security apparatus" would protect
foreigners in China.
In a Muslim neighborhood near Niujie Mosque, Beijing's oldest and
most prominent, many were opposed to U.S. actions.
"What's America thinking?" asked shopkeeper Hong Ji, 50. "Iraq is
so far from the United States. Saddam hasn't done anything against
the United States."
photo credit
and caption:
Chinese paramilitary officers on
duty stand guard near an armoured van near the U.S. and
British Embassies in Beijing, China, Thursday March 20, 2003.
Security cordons tightened Thursday around foreign diplomatic
installations, including the U.S. and Iraqi Embassies, as
American military action in Iraq began.(AP Photo/Ng Han
Guan)
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