China joins French-German outcry over war against Iraq

China has jumped on growing French and German opposition to war in Iraq to reinforce its own position against Washington's aggressive posturing on the issue, analysts say.

Unusually blunt comments by the foreign ministry Thursday that China was uneasy about the military build-up in the Gulf were seen as the clearest message yet that Beijing does not like the way Washington is racing towards a conflict.

Wu Guoguang, an expert in Sino-US relations at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said China does not want to be seen as leading opposition to US actions but was more than happy to jump on the coat-tails of Paris and Berlin.

"China has learnt through experience that it doesn't pay to lead opposition to US actions but now that Germany and France have explicitly expressed their feelings it is very happy to follow," he said.

"China has always said the United Nations is a legitimate body to settle international issues and it is determined that the United States must get an endorsement from the UN before any action."

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council China, like Russia and France, has the power to veto resolutions and its toughened stance on Iraq throws yet more diplomatic obstacles in front of Washington as it struggles to maintain international unity.

"We express worry and unease about the current large-scale military concentration in the region," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue, who has also made clear it was "too early" to draw any conclusions about the issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

The United Nations weapons inspectors will give their first formal compliance report to the Security Council on Monday.

It is considered key to deciding future action.

Given that Beijing over the past year or so has consistently offered support in the US fight against terrorism as traditionally fraught bilateral ties improved, the hardening of its position on Iraq is seen as a subtle shift in policy that could be related to North Korea.

"This could be seen as another approach to the North Korean problem," said Brian Bridges, a professor of politics at Hong Kong's Lingnan University.

China wants the nuclear standoff between Washington and Pyon-gyang to be solved through dialogue and has voiced opposition to taking the matter to the Security Council which could lead to sanctions against its neighbour.

"By shifting its actions on Iraq it could also be sending a message to the United States that this too (North Korea) must be settled through diplomacy and in no way would military action over North Korea be tolerated," Bridges said.

He added that China was also concerned about its image on the global stage and did not want to be seen as among a minority.

"It has probably weighed up the way in which other countries are beginning to think (about Iraq) and has decided it wants to be on the side of the majority and not the minority," he said.

"It certainly looks like the majority in the Security Council are becoming more cautious and China wants to be seen with that group."

A diplomat in Beijing closely following developments saw a similar position in Chinese policy.

"China has always insisted on a peaceful solution but it has never been strong and assertive like France and Germany," he said.

"In my opinion this seems to be a case of bandwagoning, but it was also an opportunity for China to come out of its shell and distance itself from Washington."