China has always been "serious and responsible" in arms trade, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Sunday in response to a rumor that the rocket used in the US embassy attack in Athens of Greece was made in China.

 

"We have noticed the media reports, but have so far received no official information from concerned parties, so we are unclear about the matter," the spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said when answering a journalist's question.

 

"What I must point out, however, is that China has always been serious and responsible in arms trade, and have strictly followed the principles of trading arms with only sovereign states and maintaining a country's sovereignty and regional peace and stability," Liu said.

 

The Chinese government has always been opposed to any violent attack on diplomatic agencies and staffers, Liu added.

 

The US Embassy in Athens was attacked early Friday by a rocket that exploded inside the embassy building but caused no casualties. Police said the attack was probably carried out by a domestic terror group.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2007)