Embassies 'break rules' on air-quality measurements

'Monitoring violates conventions and uses different standards'

Foreign embassies releasing their own air-quality readings are contravening international conventions, an official from the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Tuesday.

"According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, diplomats are duty-bound to respect the laws and regulations of their host countries and should not interfere in their domestic affairs," Wu Xiaoqing, vice-minister at the ministry, said at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office.