Unclear Athens attack rocket was China-made: Beijing

Beijing, Jan 14: China has received ''no officialinformation'' that a rocket used to attack the US embassy in Athens onFriday was Chinese-made, the Foreign Ministry said today.

Greek police said the weapon used for the attack, which theysuspect was the work of a leftist guerrilla group, was a Chinese-madeRPG 7. The blast caused minor damage but no one was hurt.

''We have noticed the media reports,'' a Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman said in a statement on the ministry's Web site(www.fmprc.gov.cn), responding to what it said was a reporter's inquiry.

''As for the question, the detailed situation is still not clear,and the Chinese side has received no official information,'' spokesmanLiu Jianchao added.

The official Xinhua news agency referred to reports that a Chinese-made rocket had been used as a ''rumour''.

Liu said that China was a responsible arms exporter.

''What I must point out is that China has always had a serious andresponsible attitude towards the arms trade, and has strictly followedthe principles of trading arms only with sovereign states andmaintaining a country's sovereignty and regional peace and stability,''Liu added.

Reuters>