China's Foreign Ministry has advised against traveling to Kyrgyzstan after 10 Chinese nationals were injured during last week's violent uprising.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said three were seriously injured and had been taken to local hospital and the economic loss has reached US$7 million.

Liu told a weekly news briefing the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan has demanded the Kyrgyzstan side take effective measures to protect the property and personal safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in the country.

Liu said the civil air service between China and Kyrgyzstan is running normally and those who want to evacuate will have no difficulties at present.

Liu said the 10 Chinese were injured during looting but there is no evidence to suggest they have been targeted because of their race or nationality.

China's border post with Kyrgyzstan in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region reopened on Monday after a six-day closure amid the current political crisis in the country. The closure temporarily stranded more than 100 Kyrgyz business people on the Chinese side of the 1,000-kilometer-long border, Xinhua said.

(China Daily March 30, 2005)