Seven Chinese released. Yet were they abducted by mistake?

Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The seven Chinese citizens abducted last Sunday in Falluja were freed on Monday morning and are now under the protection of the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad, a spokesman for the country's embassy said.

The seven Chinese citizens were workers who had entered Iraq from Jordan. On the morning of April 11 they were immediately captured in Falluja. Two of them were injured due to a car accident that occurred during their abduction.  

According to the Xinhua news service the seven captives ranged in age from 18-45 and worked as fishermen and farmers prior to leaving their homes in Pingtan County (Fujian). Some of them had left China 2 months earlier, while the others left just this past Apr. 9. It is not clear what they were doing in Iraq, yet it is supposed that were employed at a Chinese firm that had signed contracts to rebuild the country.     

Their release came a few hours before the arrival of US Vice-President Dick Cheney in Beijing. Mr. Cheney had flown there from Tokyo, where his visit was overshadowed by the news of 3 Japanese civilians being held hostage by Iraqi rebels. The abduction of the 7 Chinese risked creating shockwaves during Cheney's visit to Beijing.  

China and the United States are collaborating in the fight against terrorism. Yet Beijing has never supported the Coalition's war in Iraq nor has it even thought of sending troops to the country.  A Chinese Foreign Ministry source, quoted by the South China Morning Post, said that the abductors in all likelihood "had no intention of taking the Chinese hostage". He said they were probably abducted by mistake.   

The Chinese economy's urgent need for energy pushes Beijing to keep a low profile in international politics, subjecting all its foreign relations to the need of guaranteeing the country's economic development. This leads China to being closer to the Saudis and Iranians than to the United Stats (cf. Maurizio d'Orlando's analysis published later today by AsiaNews).

• china
• iraq
• hostage
• transition
• coalition
• foreign
• policy
• oil