China on Thursday lashed out at the terrorist attack against Chinese workers in Afghanistan.

More than 20 gunmen raided a Chinese construction site in northern Afghanistan early Thursday, and 11 Chinese workers have so far been confirmed killed and four others wounded.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a news briefing Thursday that upon hearing the news, Chinese leaders strongly condemned the terrorist activities.

They instructed the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan and other relevant departments to put all their strength into rescuing the injured workers, properly deal with the incident and assist the Afghan side in ensuring the safety of other Chinese people in Afghanistan.

The Chinese leaders also asked the Chinese Foreign Ministry to send their deep condolences and comfort to the victims and their families, Liu said.

According to Liu, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan started their work immediately after learning of the incident. Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo has called people in charge of the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry's Asian Department has also held an emergency meeting with the Afghan ambassador to China, demanding the Afghan government to take all measures possible to rescue the injured workers, ensure the safety of other Chinese citizens in the country, and meanwhile launch an investigation into the incident and bring the murderers to justice.

The spokesman said the Chinese Foreign Ministry has also notified the Ministry of Commerce and the China Railway Shisiju Group Corporation (CRSGC), employer of the workers. Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Sun Yuxi had also rushed to the scene.

The injured workers have been sent to a hospital in Kunduz Province, where medical staff of the United Nations are also helping with the treatment, he said. An 11-member work team sent by the CRSGC is to set off Friday to Afghanistan to deal with the incident.

Liu said that in a phone conversation with Dai Bingguo, Afghan Vice Foreign Minister Zalmay Aziz also expressed condolences to the victims. Aziz said Afghan leaders attach great importance to the incident, and he has instructed relevant departments to hunt down and severely punish the murderers.

The Afghan side will cooperate well with the Chinese side in rescuing the injured and dealing with the aftermath, and take all measures to guarantee the safety of Chinese people in Afghanistan, Aziz said.

The spokesman said China would not surrender to terrorism in any form and the country would continue to participate in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan.

He said China and Afghanistan have a tradition of friendship and have forged good cooperation so far, vowing that China would not withdraw from the country's reconstruction project.

China considers the incident as a terror attack, to which great importance should be attached by various parties, especially by the Afghanistan side, Liu said, calling on the Afghan side to learn lessons from the incident and take more effective measures to ensure the safety of nationals of various countries in Afghanistan's territory.

China has been a target, as well as a victim, of terrorism for a long time, and that's why China supports the campaign against terrorism in all forms, Liu noted, expressing the hope that the international community should continue effective strikes on terrorism.

According to Liu, the Chinese workers had just arrived in Kunduz Province when the assault took place and they didn't even know each other very well. The attack happened at around 1:00 am local time when most of the workers were sleeping.

Chinese workers did not receive adequate protection, Liu added.

In another development, the spokesman refuted a recent report issued by the Pentagon on Beijing's military forces, saying that the report was filled with cold war mentality and had ulterior motives.

According to a journalist present at yesterday's briefing, the report suggested Taiwan would attack the Three Gorges Dam, the world's biggest hydroelectric project, to counter a possible Chinese attack.

Liu said if it is true, it reflects the report was filled with cold war mentality and had ulterior motives.

He said the basic principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems" that China adheres to on the Taiwan issue will not change and the Chinese government is willing to try its best, with the utmost sincerity, to realize a peaceful reunification.

But, Liu said, China will never tolerate "Taiwan independence," neither will China allow anybody to split Taiwan from the motherland with any means. "Nothing can shake the determination of the Chinese people to reunify its motherland."

Liu said China urges the United States to take concrete steps to fulfill its commitments of adhering to the one-China policy, abiding by the three China-US joint communiqués and opposing "Taiwan independence."

The spokesman also asked the United States to refrain from sending wrong signals to Taiwan so as not to harm the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and the interest of the United States itself.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will attend the state funeral of former US President Ronald Reagan on Friday at the National Cathedral in Washington, said the spokesman, adding that Li would attend the funeral as the special envoy of President Hu Jintao.

Reagan, who served as the 40th US president from 1981 to 1989, passed away at the age of 93 at his home in California on Saturday after a decade-long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. US President George W. Bush and an array of world leaders are expected to attend his funeral.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing sent messages of condolence to their US counterparts respectively last Sunday.

In the messages to US President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, Hu and Li also expressed sympathy to Reagan's wife, Nancy, and his relatives.

Turning to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the spokesman said China expects progress, even if small, in each round of the six-party talks.

Liu said it was difficult to make progress in solving the nuclear issue due to the complexity of the issue, and all concerned parties should remain patient and not expect too much from the six-party talks.

At the first working group meeting of the six-party talks in Beijing last month, negotiators from China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan agreed the third round of six-party talks will be held in Beijing before the end of June after one more working-level discussion.

Liu said all concerned parties now had put forward their proposals on the date of the next round of talks, and China will continue to consult with the other five parties on this issue, so as to reach consensus soon.

Liu said the third round of six-party talks is very important, and the key to success lies in whether all parties concerned will have been fully prepared before the talks.

Now that there are still comparatively big differences among the parties concerned, China hopes the related parties would continue to take a constructive attitude, show flexibility to the full, seek and expand common ground, narrow differences, and work actively to find solutions, the spokesman said.

Liu said the most important thing for all concerned parties was to continue the process of resolving the nuclear issue in a peaceful way, and to implement all the consensuses that had been reached.

The issues related to the specific themes and date of the next round of six-party talks will be consulted by all concerned parties, so as to provide full preparation for the talks, Liu said.

China holds an open attitude toward the issue of when the talks would be held, Liu said, adding that China will continue to play an active role in facilitating the peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue in a constructive manner.

Also at yesterday's briefing, the spokesman announced the third foreign ministers' meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) will be held in Qingdao, a coastal city in east China's Shandong Province on June 21 and 22.

Liu said 22 Asian foreign ministers will attend the meeting, which will be presided over by Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

On the sideline of the meeting, the China-ASEAN foreign minister's informal meeting and the first meeting of the Three Party Committee of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea will also be convened, Liu said.

The following is the basic information of the three meetings given by Liu.

ACD, founded in June 2002, is the only official dialogue and cooperation mechanism open to the entire Asia. This foreign ministers' meeting will review the progress in various fields within the ACD framework over the past two years, explore the direction for ACD's development and exchange views on international and regional issues.

The China-ASEAN foreign ministers' informal meeting is the first meeting of China and ASEAN foreign ministers since the two sides established a strategic partnership. The foreign ministers will have a free exchange of views focused on the international and regional situation, the ways to deepen China-ASEAN relations and their respective development strategies.

The Three Party Committee of China, Japan and the ROK was set up in line with the Joint Declaration on the Promotion of Tripartite Cooperation issued by leaders of the three counties last October.

The committee, led by foreign ministers of the three countries, is mainly responsible for planning and coordinating cooperation of the three sides.

Liu also announced Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong will pay an official visit to Tunisia, Togo, Benin and South Africa from June 20 to 29, at the invitation of Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema, Beninese President Mathieu Kerekou and South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2004)