China urges the United States to repatriate the suspected Chinese terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay, as soon as possible, bearing in mind Sino-US relations and following international laws and regulations, said Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu Thursday at a regular press conference in Beijing.

She stressed that the "East Turkestan" terrorists in western China were considered part of international terrorist forces. The international community including China should work together in fighting the common enemy of terrorism, Jiang added.

In another development, Kenya has been asked to ensure the safety of Chinese people working there after gunmen robbed and murdered a Chinese engineer and wounded another.

The robbery occurred early Tuesday morning. The Chinese engineers were employed by the China Road & Bridge Corporation which is building a road project near the port city of Mombasa, in southeast Kenya.

Jiang said the Chinese government is very concerned about the case and the Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Kenya have made representations to their Kenyan counterparts.

"We have asked Kenya to make a speedy and thorough investigation, arrest the criminals and take concrete and effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens," said Jiang.

According to Jiang, the wounded engineer was not seriously wounded but remains in hospital for observation.

A working group of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya visited the wounded man and is overseeing other issues related to the crime.

Jiang said Kenya has established a special group to investigate the case and is taking measures to strengthen protection of Chinese companies and personnel.

On another case, Jiang said China is doing all it can to secure the release of the nine Chinese oil workers kidnapped by an armed group in Nigeria last Thursday.

Also on Thursday, Jiang said that China's oil and gas exploration in East China Sea is conducted in China's undisputed continental shelves.

The Tai Kung Pao reported in its online edition that production is under way at the Chunxiao gas field, with natural gas being shipped to Ningbo and Shaoxing cities in east China's coastal Zhejiang Province.

Jiang was not aware of the report, but said that China's oil and gas exploration is conducted in undisputed areas.

As for when China and Japan will hold the next round of East China Sea consultation, the two sides have not fixed a date, but China holds an open attitude toward a new round of meeting.

China always stands for dialogue and consultation to solve the East China Sea demarcation disputes, she said.

So far, six rounds of consultation have been convened between China and Japan. At the sixth round, the two sides agreed to maintain the consultation process in the future.

Commenting on the six-party talks about the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Jiang that all parties wished to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula by peaceful means through dialogue and consultation, to normalize relations between relevant countries and build a new harmonious pattern for Northeast Asia.

She said preparations are being made for the third phase of the fifth round of six-party talks scheduled to begin on Feb. 8, and China hopes that all parties will adopt a sincere, mutually trusting and open attitude for the "positive progress" of the fresh round of talks.

The Sept. 19 agreement was signed at the fourth round of the six-party talks in September 2005, aiming at resolving the nuclear standoff.

Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, China's chief negotiator to the six-party talks, said on Wednesday that he hopes the upcoming session of six-party talks will accomplish its mission within three to four days.

The United States and North Korea had just ended two-day talks on financial issues in Beijing, which is believed as one of the key factors that have stalled the six-party talks.

The talks, involving North Korea, the United States, China, Russia, the Republic of Korea and Japan, are aimed at denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)