The U.S.-led NATO attacked the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(FRY) from different angles with 5 bombs at 5:45 a.m., May 8, 1999, Beijing Time. Three Chinese journalists(Ms. Shao Yunhuan from the Xinhua News Agency and Mr. Xu Xinghu and Ms. Zhu Ying from Guangming Daily) were killed in the attack, more than twenty staff members of the Embassy injured, and the Embassy buildings seriously damaged.


On the morning of May 8, the Chinese Government issued a statement in which it pointed out that the bombing of the Chinese Embassy by the U.S.-led NATO is a gross encroachment on China's sovereignty and a willful trampling on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as the basic norms governing international relations. The Chinese Government and people hereby express their utmost indignation and stern condemnation and lodge the strongest protest against this barbaric atrocity. On the afternoon of May 8, Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Yingfan urgently summoned James Sasser, U.S. Ambassador to China, and made serious representations with him and lodged the strongest protest to the U.S.-led NATO on its attack on the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.


On the afternoon of May 8, university students and residents from Beijing and around the country spontaneously began their massive demonstrations in front of the embassies and consulates of the United States, the United Kingdom and other NATO countries in China to protest the U.S.-led NATO's brutal bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.


In his response to the press May 8, U.S. President Clinton said that the bombing was a tragic mistake and that he would express his deep condolences and sincere regrets to the Chinese leaders and people. He tried to justify NATO's bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the same time. On May 9, President Clinton sent a letter to President Jiang Zemin and expressed his regrets and condolences.


On May 10, the spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced China's decision to postpone high-level military contacts and consultations on proliferation prevention, arms control and international security, and to suspend dialogue over human rights between the two countries. On the afternoon of May 10, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan made another serious representation with James Sasser, U.S. Ambassador to China. On behalf of the Chinese Government, Tang issued the following solemn demands to the U.S.-led NATO: 1. To make an open and official apology to the Chinese Government, the Chinese people and relatives of the Chinese victims; 2. To carry out a complete and thorough investigation of the NATO attack on China's Embassy in Yugoslavia; 3. To disclose promptly the detailed results of the investigation; 4. To punish severely those responsible for the attack. In remarks before a ceremony on youth and violence at the Whitehouse May 10, U.S. President Clinton said, "I want to say to the Chinese people and to the leaders of China, I apologize, I regret this." He said that he would like to reaffirm his commitment to strong U.S.-China ties. On May 12, the special airplane sent by the Chinese Government to Yugoslavia to evacuate Embassy staff members returned to Beijing. The U.S. Embassy and consulates in China had their national flags flown at half-staff in respect for the dead. U.S. President Clinton met with Chinese Ambassador Li Zhaoxing at the Whitehouse May 13, and signed a Chinese Embassy book of condolences for the bombing victims: "With profound grief and sincere condolences for the victims, their families and the people of China." On May 14, at the request of U.S. President Clinton, President Jiang Zemin held a phone talk with him. President Clinton expressed his regrets for the Embassy bombing and said that he would order a complete and comprehensive investigation into the incident and that he would send his personal envoy to Beijing to report to the Chinese side on the findings. President Jiang emphasized that the NATO attack on the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia was a serious incident that had shocked the world. It was a serious infringement on Chinese sovereignty and an affront to the feelings of the Chinese people. The U.S.-led NATO should bear all the responsibilities for the incident. "I hope the U.S. government fully realizes the seriousness of the incident, which has damaged China-U.S. relations," he said. President Jiang concluded that the pressing need is that the U.S. government should make a comprehensive, thorough and fair investigation into the incident and promptly make the results of the investigation public to satisfy all demands of the Chinese Government and the Chinese people.


On June 16, U.S. President's Personal Envoy and Undersecretary of State Thomas R. Pickering presented in Beijing to the Chinese Government a U.S. government's report on the results of its investigation into the U.S.-led NATO's attack on the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Vice-Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met and had talks with the U.S. Special Envoy respectively. Pickering said that the U.S. investigation shows that multiple factors and errors in several parts of the U.S. Government were responsible for the "tragic mistaken bombing" of the Chinese Embassy. Pickering noted that the different parts of the U.S. Government had three basic failures: First, the technique used to locate the intended target was severely flawed. The U.S. intended target was the headquarters of the Yugoslav Federal Directorate for Supply and Procurement(FDSP). To locate physically the address of the intended target, two maps produced by Yugoslavia in 1989 and 1996 respectively and a 1997 National Imagery and Mapping Agency(NIMA) map were used. None of these maps had any reference to the FDSP building, and none had accurately the current location of the Chinese Embassy. In the process of locating the target, a U.S. intelligence officer, in breach of operational rules, employed techniques that are used in the field by the Army. These techniques involve the assumption of target locations of a street by comparing the pattern and numbering system of its parallel streets, and they can only be used for general geographic location, but are totally inappropriate for precision targeting for air attacks. Using this process, the intelligence officer mistakenly determined that the building of the Chinese Embassy was the FDSP headquarters. The second major error stemmed from flawed U.S. databases, Pickering said. These databases have not been duly updated and still identified the location of the Chinese Embassy in Old Belgrade. Therefore, when the incorrect location of the FDSP building was fed into several U.S. databases for review, none of the databases had detected the error. The U.S. satellite imagery photos did not indicate any clear markings of the Chinese Embassy either. Third, the target review process failed to detect and correct the above-said mistakes. While this target of what was believed to be the FDSP facility came under review, the system of checks that U.S. and European command forces had in place to catch target errors did not at any level reveal the mistake. Under these circumstances, the air strike then proceeded as planned. At 21:46 Zulu on May 7, 1999, one of the fleet of B-2 bombers from Whiteman Air Base in Missouri dropped five Joint Attack Munitions(JDAM) 2000lb. GPS-guided bombs on the wrong target of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. Pickering said that the internal reviews are still going on in the United States. When these reviews are completed, it will be determined whether any disciplinary action will be taken.


The Chinese side pointed out that the explanations the U.S. side has supplied so far for the cause of the incident are not convincing and that the conclusion that it was a so-called "mistaken bombing" is by no means acceptable to the Chinese Government and people. The Chinese side strongly refuted the explanations of the U.S. side and pointed out: First of all, it was impossible for the U.S. not to know the accurate location of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. Second, everything points to the fact that the U.S. side knew fully well the overall layout of foreign missions in Belgrade. Thirdly, the U.S. claim of locating the FDSP, an intended target for air strike, by employing a method that is used in the field by the Army is not logical. Fourthly, the U.S. target databases are updated frequently and a clear distinguishment is made between the target list and no-hit list. The U.S. argument that the Chinese Embassy was mistakenly fed into the databases as the FDSP does not hold ground. Fifthly, the explanation given by the U.S. side that its review process failed to detect and correct the "intelligence errors" is inconceivable. The Chinese side emphatically pointed out that the U.S. government must give full recognition to the seriousness of the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, give serious attention to the Chinese Government's solemn position and demands, conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation and severely punish the perpetrators so as to give, with concrete actions, a satisfactory account and explanation to the Chinese Government and people. The Chinese side pointed out that the attack on the Chinese Embassy constituted an act of international unlawfulness on the part of the United States. The Chinese side demands that the U.S. government should take full compensation responsibility and make prompt, adequate and effective compensations for the Chinese loss of lives, injuries and loss of property.


Pickering stated that the U.S. side understood the feelings of the Chinese Government and people over the bombing of the Chinese Embassy and that the U.S. side recognized its full responsibility to report the results of the investigation to the Chinese side. He said the U.S. side is willing to settle the issue of the Chinese loss of lives and injures and loss of property and is ready to hold discussions with the Chinese side over this issue. He emphasized that President Clinton and the U.S. government attach great importance to U.S.-China relations and remain committed to the development of the bilateral relations. Pickering conveyed to the Chinese side a letter from President Clinton to President Jiang Zemin.


The Chinese side made it clear that the Chinese Government had always attached importance to the improvement and development of China-U.S. relations. But principles must be upheld in developing Sino-U.S. relations. That is, their improvement and development must be based on the basic norms governing the international relations, especially on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. It is up to one who tied the knot to untie it. The U.S. side must face squarely the severe consequences of its attack on the Chinese Embassy and the effect on China-U.S. relations, take practical action and handle this incident properly, so as to create necessary conditions and an atmosphere for bilateral relations to return to a normal track.


The Chinese and U.S. delegations held the first round of negotiations in Beijing from July 15 to 16 about the compensation for the personnel casualties and property losses occurred to the Chinese side during the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Progress was achieved during the second round of negotiations between the Chinese and U.S. delegations in Beijing from July 28 to 30. The two sides reached an agreement on the compensation for the personnel casualties occurred to the Chinese side. The U.S. side will soon pay a compensation fund of 4.5 million U.S. dollars to the Chinese Government, which will distribute the fund to those individuals who were injured in the bombing and to the families of those killed. The Chinese side reiterated its principled position on the issue and stressed that the U.S. side must make immediate, adequate and effective compensation for all the losses occurred to the Chinese side. The Chinese and U.S. sides will continue negotiations about the compensation for the property losses of the Chinese side.


On December 16, 1999, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao announced that the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America reached an agreement on the question of compensation relating to the US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). According to the agreement, the US Government will pay a sum of $28 million to the Chinese Government for the property loss and damage suffered by China as a result of the US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in FRY last May. Prior to this, the two sides, on July 30, already reached an agreement on the question of compensation for Chinese casualties resulting from the US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in FRY.


Zhu pointed out that the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in FRY by the US-led NATO on May 8 this year caused heavy Chinese casualties and severe loss and damage to the embassy premises and that it was a gross violation of the universally recognized international law and the fundamental norms governing international relations. The Chinese Government promptly issued a solemn statement, expressing its uttermost indignation and strong condemnation against this barbarous act. It lodged the strongest protest, demanding that the US-led NATO take full responsibility for the incident, make public apology to the Chinese Government and people and the families of the victims, conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the incident and make public their detailed investigation report and severely punish the perpetrators, Zhu said. Under the stern representations by the Chinese Government, leaders of the United States and other NATO countries have apologized in public to the Chinese Government and people and the families of the victims for the bombing incident, the spokesman said.


Zhu emphasized that the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in FRY constitutes a serious case of internationally wrongful act by the United States and that the U.S. Government must shoulder state responsibility for its act, including making rapid, full and effective compensation to China for all the latter's loss and damage. The US Government should conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the bombing, severely punish the perpetrators and give a satisfactory account of the incident to the Chinese Government and people as soon as possible, Zhu stressed.