China has asked Malaysia to conduct immediate investigation into and punish offenders involved in the assault and humiliation of Chinese citizens in Malaysia, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Beijing Tuesday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and Embassy in Malaysia have expressed grave concern about reports of Chinese citizens being assaulted and humiliated in Malaysia, and made strong representations to the Malaysian government, demanding immediate investigation into and stern punishment of the offenders, said spokesman Liu Jianchao.

An undated combo video clip purportedly showing a female Chinese woman being stripped and mistreated at a police station in Kuala Lumpur. (AFP)

Among the cases, a woman, believed to be a Chinese national, was forced to do squats in front of a woman in police uniform in a room with some lookers. The scene was videotaped and shown to Malaysian ministers and parliament members as evidence, Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported on Friday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had reportedly asked the police authorities not to "hide" any facts in the probe into the video footage. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razakalso said that Malaysia would carry out a thorough investigation into the video evidence and would not protect the perpetrators, according to Bernama.

"The Chinese government has always considered it important to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens from being violated," Liu said at a routine press conference.

The Chinese side has noticed the promise of senior Malaysian officials to investigate the cases earnestly, Liu said.

He stressed "China will continue to urge Malaysia to investigate and deal with these cases in a serious and just manner and bring the trouble makers to justice so as to really protect the dignity and safety of Chinese citizens and prevent such cases from recurring."

In response to a question on Malaysian Minister of Interior Azmi Khalid's possible visit to China, Liu said the two countries have been discussing details for the "important visit" on an date that is proper for both sides.

China welcomes Khalid to come for a visit, which will play a positive role in pushing forward bilateral cooperation in certain fields, the spokesman said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced last Thursday that Premier Wen Jiabao will pay an official visit to Malaysia in mid-December.

UN chief to visit China in Dec.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan will pay an official visit to China from Dec. 4 to 7 at the invitation of the Chinese government, announced Liu.

This will be Annan's 7th visit to China since he assumed office, and the two sides will exchange ideas on international and regional issues of common interest and the cooperation between China and the UN, Liu said.

China, US to hold 2nd strategic dialogue

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo and US Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick will hold the Second China-US Strategic Dialogue in Washington from Dec. 7 to 8, Liu said.

On the basis of the First China-US Strategic Dialogue held in August this year, the two sides will make more in-depth exchanges of views on major issues concerning Sino-US relations.

UN torture rapporteur's China tour "smooth"

The current China visit by Manfred Novak, special rapporteur on torture of the UN Human Rights Commission, is "smooth", according to Liu.

Liu said that Novak has met and held talks with officials of China's ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Public Security and the Supreme People's Procuratorate over the past few days.

Novak visited some houses of detention and talked with NGO personnel, lawyers and scholars, Liu said, adding that Novak will also visit Tibet Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

At the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Novak arrived in China on Nov. 21 for a visit which will last until Dec. 2.

China to reduce slick impact on downstream Russia

China is taking various measures to minimize the impact that the toxic spill pollution in the Songhua River may have on Russia's far east region, Liu said.

Both the Chinese and Russian governments attach great importance to the incident and hope it does not cast a shadow on China-Russia relations, according to Liu.

Liu said China has always responsibly handled issues of its border rivers with other countries.

"China will take into consideration the concerns and interests of the countries downstream of the rivers whenever it takes actionin the upper stream," added Liu.

A blast at a northeast China chemical plant on November 13 sentan 80-kilometer-long slick of benzene into the Songhua River, which flows through China's Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces and then into Russia's far east region.

Liu said China has closely watched the situation and began to provide Russia with relevant information on November 22. Since last Thursday, China has begun to inform Russia daily about its monitoring.

The spokesman reaffirmed that China will try its best to take all measures to reduce the possible bad impact on Russia.

State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) Deputy Director Zhang Lijun held talks Monday night with a Russian Delegation of Khabarovsk Environmental Protection Bureau on dealing with the pollution incident.

Zhang informed the delegation in detail of the river pollution,including the sorts of pollutants, the density and the location ofthe pollution belt, and sent the Russia a set of benzene quick-detecting devices.

The spokesman also said SEPA welcomes cooperation with international organizations.

Editor: Donald