‘Condemn illegal violence’, China on attack on White House Correspondents' Dinner

China on Monday said it opposes and condemns ''illegal violence'' in its cryptic reaction to a shooting incident at White House Correspondents' Dinner attended by the US President Donald Trump. ''The shooting incident has come to China's attention'', Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here when asked for his reaction to Saturday's attempt by a gunman to storm the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which was termed as an attempt to target Trump. ''We oppose and condemn illegal violence,'' Lin said in his brief reaction to a question on the attack. Armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, the gunman, identified as Cole Allen from California, stormed a security checkpoint outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, exchanging fire with Secret Service agents and forcing Trump and dozens of senior officials to be evacuated from the prestigious event. Lin also strongly condemned the US sanctioning one of China's largest private oil refiners over its links to Iran. Reports from Washington said the US announced on Friday it would sanction Hengli Petrochemicals in China's port city of Dalian. The measure blocks the company and others that transport Iranian oil from accessing the US financial system. Hengli Petrochemicals is among dozens of Chinese buyers of Iran's oil. China, which shared strategic ties with Iran in recent years, was the largest buyer of Iranian oil, disregarding US sanctions.

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