China is sending five ships to evacuate its workers from Vietnam following a wave of anti-Chinese riots.
The Chinese government has already evacuated more than 3,000 people, Chinese state-run media report.
The first ship set sail on Sunday, while 16 critically injured Chinese nationals left Vietnam on a chartered flight, Xinhua news agency said.
Two Chinese workers have been killed and dozens more injured in unrest over a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters.
More than 3,000 Chinese workers have been evacuated from Vietnam (photo Reuters)
On Saturday the Vietnamese government called for an end to the protests.
Officials said “illegal acts” would be stopped as they could damage national stability.
However, dissident groups have urged people to rally again in major cities on Sunday and the authorities broke up some anti-China protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
In recent days crowds have set fire to at least 15 foreign-owned factories – including Chinese, Taiwanese and South Korean businesses – in several Vietnamese industrial parks.
Correspondents say the attacks appear to have worried authorities, as Hanoi depends heavily on foreign investment for economic growth.
However, China has urged authorities to take tougher measures to punish rioters.
“We are strongly dissatisfied by the Vietnamese side failure to respond effectively to curb an escalation,” Xinhua quoted security chief Guo Shengkun as saying on Saturday.
The protests have been triggered by China’s decision to move its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig into contested waters in the South China Sea.
This led to confrontations between Vietnamese and Chinese ships earlier this month, as Vietnam sought to block the move.
China insists it will continue drilling in the area, west of the Paracel Islands – which are controlled by China but also claimed by Vietnam, and Taiwan.
Nationalist sentiment is currently running very high in Vietnam over the issue, correspondents say.
One Chinese worker is dead and at least 90 other people injured after protesters attacked a steel mill in Vietnam, amid anti-China tensions over the South China Sea dispute.
The incident took place at a Taiwanese-owned mill in Ha Tinh province.
It came a day after protesters burnt several foreign-owned factories at an industrial park.
The demonstrations have been sparked by China’s movement of a drilling rig into waters also claimed by Vietnam.
Nationalist sentiment in Vietnam is currently running very high over the South China Sea dispute (photo AFP/Getty Images)
Several anti-China protests have since taken place in Vietnam. Nationalist sentiment is currently running very high over the issue, correspondents say.
Protesters appear to have targeted businesses with Chinese characters in their signs, even if they are from other countries such as Taiwan.
The Chinese embassy in Vietnam on Thursday urged Chinese nationals to take precautions, in the second such statement in as many days.
“We once again remind all Chinese in Vietnam to take safety precautions, increase self-protection, and avoid leaving home unnecessarily,” said the statement posted on the embassy’s website.
It said that “Chinese businesses and workers have been the targets of violence” in at least seven cities or provinces across Vietnam. The embassy said it had asked Vietnamese authorities to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens.
On Tuesday, at least 15 foreign-owned factories were set on fire at industrial parks in Binh Duong province, and hundreds more attacked. No casualties were reported.
Some Taiwanese have begun leaving the country.
The latest incident happened overnight at a huge steel plant owned by Formosa Plastics Group.
Taiwan’s envoy in Vietnam said one Chinese worker was killed and 90 other people injured.
A local police official also confirmed this account.
“One Chinese worker is dead. We are trying to identify the body,” he told AFP news agency.
In a statement quoted by Reuters news agency, the company said its Vietnamese and Taiwanese workers were not attacked.
Taiwan’s envoy told AFP news agency that rioters forced Chinese workers into a corner of the factory. “The rioters have gone but we are all still concerned they might come back,” he said.
Doctors at Ha Tinh General Hospital told agencies several Chinese patients were being treated for injuries.
On Wednesday, Vietnamese authorities said at least 200 people had been arrested over the violence at the industrial park in Binh Duong.
China’s tourism body has urged its nationals to “carefully consider” any travel to Vietnam.
China’s Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig was brought into waters west of the disputed Paracel Islands earlier this month, leading to collisions between Vietnamese and Chinese ships as Vietnam sought to block the move.
China claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea, including several areas that its South East Asian neighbors say belong to them.
In recent years it has started to enforce these claims more assertively, leading to severely strained ties with the Philippines and Vietnam in particular.
The Philippines is currently taking China to a UN court to try to resolve the issue.
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