Ministry gets no word from US on consulate illness

The Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that Washington "has not made official contact" with Beijing over US officials' claims that more US citizens have fallen ill and were taken home after hearing strange noises in Guangzhou.

Last month, China said it found no evidence connected to what officials from the United States described as abnormal sound and pressure reported by an unnamed US citizen assigned to the US consulate in Guangzhou.

On Wednesday, The New York Times quoted officials as saying that the State Department has evacuated at least two more US citizens working at the consulate in Guangzhou who fell ill after hearing strange noises.

In response to the US media report, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Washington has not officially contacted Beijing and has not made any related requests over the latest development.

Hua said she learned about the latest development through media reports and did not have details.

China will conduct necessary investigations in a responsible and earnest manner if the US directly contacts China through official channels, Hua said at a news conference in Beijing.

Hua said China has investigated in a very responsible way the previous case, reported last month about the US consulate employee, and has provided feedback to the US.

So far, China has not found any causes or clues to the situation described by the US, Hua said.

Zhang Yunbi contributed to this story.