Protesters carry anti-American banners as they march toward the U.S. Embassy in Beijing RELATED VIDEO Chinese have stopped large protests against the U.S. in Beijing. CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon is there. (May 11) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K To view the latest video streams on the strikes in Kosovo, use the arrow buttons below to scroll through the video gallery.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K IMAGE GALLERY Aftermath of Anger: Damage at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing To the corners of the world: The flight of Kosovo's refugees The Serbs and Kosovo  ALSO: Washington: Firing not likely over bombing of Chinese embassy U.N. pleads for more money for Kosovo refugees NATO accelerates bombing, seeks new bases for airstrikes Bombing puts bump on road to better U.S.-China relations  THE DELUGE OF REFUGEES: Where are they going?  MAPS: NATO officials describe the air campaign  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: NATO at 50 Strike on Yugoslavia

May 12, 1999
Web posted at: 12:54 a.m. EDT (0454 GMT)

In this story: Russian envoy says bombing must stop No U.N. condemnation of NATO Damage to U.S.-China relations RELATED STORIES, SITES

BEIJING (CNN) -- Order was restored Tuesday to Beijing's embassy district, following four days of angry protests ignited by NATO's weekend bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

As the protests eased outside the U.S. Embassy, the American ambassador left the building after four days of being holed up there.

For the first time since the bombing, state-run media in China reported apologies from NATO, but the government contended that a simple "I'm sorry" was not enough.

NATO said that outdated intelligence information led to the attack last Saturday, which left three Chinese journalists dead and more than 20 people injured. NATO planners said they believed the building was Yugoslav army supply facility.

The remains of the three killed, all journalists, arrived home Wednesday, along with those injured.

In the first few days after the attack, tens of thousands of Chinese marched on U.S. and British embassies and consulates in Beijing and other cities both in China and elsewhere, protesting what they saw as a deliberate attack. The protests turned violent as demonstrators hurled rocks, bricks, chunks of concrete and firebombs at the embattled diplomatic missions.

But on Tuesday, military police were out in force to keep the peace, while crews cleaned debris from the three previous days of protests.

Small orderly groups were allowed to march peacefully while a spokesman implied the violent siege of embassies -- and attacks on Western journalists -- would no longer be permitted.

Chinese government officials said that speculation in Western circles that China had been encouraging the protests were simply wrong.

"If these over-reactions were seen to be supported by the government, that is a complete misunderstanding," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao.

In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen testified before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense, answering questions about how such a bombing mistake could occur.

"It's not a question of pointing any fingers. The fingers point clearly to an intelligence breakdown," Cohen said.

Clinton administration officials told CNN that no one has been fired or punished over the bombing, and no one has resigned or offered to resign.

Sources close to the investigation predict some officials eventually will be reassigned or reprimanded -- but probably not fired.

"We are in the preliminary stages of our investigation, and we will consider appropriate action after the investigation," Cohen said.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin still refuses to speak by phone with U.S. President Bill Clinton, according to White House officials in Washington.

James Sasser, the U.S. ambassador to China who had remained inside the embassy since the protests began, was escorted by several staff members from the heavily damaged building.

Sasser walked a block and a half to a guarded complex of apartments housing diplomats and international journalists. Beijing police protect the walled compound, which is off-limits to Chinese without permits to visit.

Chinese state media on Tuesday broadcast U.S. President Bill Clinton's apology for the bombing, along with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana's apology. But the Chinese Foreign Ministry still insisted the gestures were not enough.

"They were so indifferent. They simply said: 'Well, we're sorry.' Then they shrugged their shoulders and walked away," Li Zhaoxing, China's ambassador to Washington, said on CNN.

"We demand that U.S.-led NATO take effective actions to positively react to the solemn demands of the Chinese side," said Zhu.

An apology was one demand China issued to Sasser on Monday. The others included a full and public investigation into why the bombing happened and severe punishment of all those responsible.

Russian special envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin paused in his European efforts to broker a peace in Kosovo to fly to Beijing for urgent consultations with the Chinese government on how to deal with this crisis. He and Chinese officials agreed on the next step.

"Before beginning any talks we must first stop the bombing," the former prime minister said.

"The two sides (China and Russia) believe the bombing of Yugoslavia must immediately stop," echoed Zhu. "This is a pre-condition for finding a political solution to the Kosovo issue."

No U.N. condemnation of NATO

While Chernomyrdin met with Chinese officials, the U.N. Security Council wrangled with China over China's request for a strong condemnation of NATO for the embassy bombing.

In New York, after two hours of discussion, the divided Security Council was unable to agree on language for a resolution regarding the embassy attack. The Chinese pushed for strong condemnation, but the United States, Britain and the allies would only agree to an expression of regret.

French diplomats offered a compromise under which the Security Council would have taken note of all of the apologies issued by NATO governments and acknowledged that an error had been made. The Chinese did not accept that.

Damage to U.S.-China relations

Before the death of Chinese citizens in Belgrade, NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia had been just an irritant in U.S.-China relations. But some analysts say hard-liners in China are using the bombing to foster their own agendas.

"These events provide ample justification to those in China who want to see a slowing or even bringing an end to a better relationship with the United States," said Bates Gill of the Brookings Institution.

But other China-watchers within the U.S. government said China's reaction to the bombing and the protests may have more to do with deflecting attention from the reports of Chinese spying at U.S. nuclear weapons labs.

Another factor, they said, could be fear that the protesters' anger, vented against the United States since the bombing, could be turned against the Chinese government if it interfered.

Beijing Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon and Correspondent Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.