China urges "thorough, accurate information" from Malaysia on missing jet

BEIJING, March 15 -- China on Saturday urged Malaysia to continue providing more "thorough and accurate information" about missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the disappearance of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was deliberate.

"The Chinese government and all the people in the country pay great attention to the latest news on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet," said China's deputy foreign minister Xie Hangsheng as he met with Iskandar Sarudin, Malaysian ambassador to China Saturday afternoon.

The Malaysian authorities are now trying to trace the missing jet in one of two possible corridors -- a northern one from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, and a southern one stretching from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean, the Malaysian prime minister told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Citing the decision made at an inter-agency emergency meeting held in Beijing following Najib's press conference, Xie urged the Malaysian side to continue stepping up the efforts to search the plane, keeping close touch with the Chinese side on the readjustment for the search deployment, and providing the Chinese side with more thorough and accurate information.

Xie also urged the Malaysian side to take their due responsibility for taking care of the families of the passengers on the plane and continue providing utmost assistance for the working team sent by the Chinese government to Malaysia. A group of technical experts are scheduled to arrive in Malaysia and join the working team.

Sarudin said the Malaysian side fully understands the request of the Chinese side and will continue to make full efforts to trace the jet and look after the passengers' families, and to support the Chinese team's work.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said earlier in a press release that China would adjust its deployment for the search in a timely manner and work together with all sides involved to expand the search area at the sea and on the land.

"We urge Malaysia to expand and define the search area for the missing plane and increase the intensity of the search," Qin said.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER, went missing suddenly on its way to Beijing early on March 8, shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The plane was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, including 154 Chinese.