Zambia has never issued arrest warrants for Chinese diplomats, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong lei said Thursday.

China has noticed reports of arrest warrants being issued for Chinese diplomats because they provided guarantees for two Chinese mine managers who have been charged with attempted murder in Zambia, Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing.

He said China is strongly dissatisfied with the reports.

The articles are fabricated rumors, he added.

He said Chinese diplomats never provided guarantees for the two coal mine managers accused of shooting coal miners.

Hong noted that the Zambian foreign affairs ministry issued a statement refuting the misleading reports on Wednesday.

The reports appeared after two Chinese coal mine managers failed to appear in court after they were accused of wounding Zambian coal mine workers in a clash at a Chinese-run coal mine in the southern town of Sinazongwe in Oct. 2010.