China lodges 'complaint' over UK consulate incident

China said on Wednesday it "made a complaint" to the UK as British police continued investigating the assault of a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester who said he was beaten up on the grounds of the Chinese consulate in the city of Manchester.

The man, who is aged in his 30s, had claimed that unidentified Chinese men from the consulate dragged him inside the building and assaulted him during a protest on Sunday.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said a complaint had been lodged "over the deliberate harassment of China's Consulate General in Manchester."

Wang claimed that "due to the illegal and deliberate harassment and entry into China's Consulate General, Chinese personnel were wounded and the security of the premises of the Consulate came under threat."

He called on the UK to "take effective measures to step up the protection of the premises and personnel of China's Embassy and consulates in the UK."

Those remarks were made after Britain's foreign secretary summoned China's second-most senior diplomat in the UK to express "concern" about the assault allegations.

Separately, Wang said he was "not aware" of reports that Australia began investigating whether its former air force pilots had been approached by China to train military personnel.

Commenting on North Korea's launch of about 100 more artillery shells earlier on Wednesday, Wang once again called on "all parties" to stick to the "political settlement" and "prevent the spiral escalation of the situation."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement early on Wednesday that North Korea fired about 100 shells off its west coast and 150 rounds off its east coast a day after the South began annual military drills.

During Wednesday's news conference, Wang also confirmed that the Chinese coast guard rescued about 20 crew members who were onboard a South Korean cargo vessel after it capsized off the coast of Fujian Province on Saturday.

Wang said the operation was a "reflection of friendship" between the two countries.