The United States says it will not entertain China's request for a review in the procedure of fingerprinting its citizens applying for non-immigrant visas. 

The US State Department rejected Beijing's claim that it was a discriminatory procedure, saying electronic fingerprinting was a global requirement for applicants of US visas.

China said Wednesday it had made representations to the United States through diplomatic channels to review the fingerprinting procedure at the US embassy in Beijing beginning this week.

China claimed it infringed on the human rights of its citizens and had caused "strong dissatisfaction" among its people.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the US should change this as soon as possible, or the Chinese side will retain the right to adopt a similar measure.

(CRI March 25, 2004)