China's commerce minister condemns Vietnamese violence

China's Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng on Saturday strongly condemned the recent violent attacks against Chinese nationals and companies in Vietnam and urged Hanoi to improve the country's trade and investment environment.

Two Chinese nationals have been confirmed to be killed in the violence and more than 100 others were injured. The development came on the back of a series of provocative activities by Hanoi to disturb the normal drilling of a Chinese oil rig in the South China Sea.

Gao also made solemn representations to Vietnam in a meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) held in eastern Chinese city of Qingdao.

He urged the Vietnamese authorities to "bring relevant issues under control" and create a favorable environment for trade and investment.

The APEC meeting, scheduled from May 17-18, brought together trade ministers from the 21 APEC member economies.