China Hits Back After US Warning on Toxic Mine Spill in Zambia

The US embassy in Zambia’s warning over the impact of a February disaster at a copper mine triggered a sharp response from Beijing, which defended the actions of the Chinese state-owned mine owner.

China’s ministry of foreign affairs lashed out at the “ignorant and ill-intentioned manipulation,” of an ambassador in the southern African nation in a statement on Monday — an apparent reference to US envoy Michael Gonzales, who’d said the incident could rank among the world’s worst such disasters, and ordered the immediate withdrawal of US personnel from the affected area.