China, officially celebrating the ¡°Year of Italy,¡± has reacted angrily to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi¡¯s comments that Chinese people used to ¡°boil babies.¡±

¡°We are dissatisfied with such remarks, which are groundless and lack any facts,¡± said Qin Gang, the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

¡°Italian leaders¡¯ speeches should be beneficial to the development of the stability of friendly relations between China and Italy,¡± Qin said.

The Chinese Embassy in Rome on Tuesday also put out a statement denouncing the comments.

¡°China is incensed by the unfounded claims made by Prime Minister Berlusconi,¡± the embassy¡¯s statement said.

Also at the press conference, Qin told reporters that President Hu Jintao on Friday would meet with the visiting heads of seven China-Japan friendship organizations.

¡°This visit signifies the positive attitude that China takes on promoting Sino-Japanese friendly exchange and cooperation,¡± Qin said.

China¡¯s stance on mending the Sino-Japanese relations is consistent and explicit, Qin said. ¡°We hold that, under the current situation, Japan should make positive efforts to improve the bilateral relations.¡±