Artefacts' sale will do nothing to help Sino-French ties: analysts

The auction of the controversial Qing dynasty bronze figures in Paris on Wednesday will probably slow repairs to the tattered Sino-French relationship, say mainland analysts.

The sale of the two animal heads, which Beijing says were looted from the Old Summer Palace 150 years ago together with numerous other precious relics, stirred heated discussion on the internet.

Many nationalistic netizens renewed calls to boycott French goods, with some even vowing to shun products by Yves Saint Laurent, the late French designer who owned the figures. The auction house, Christie's, also came under attack from both the public and the government.

Although the issue has not escalated into a diplomatic spat, analysts said it would 'add salt to the wounds' of the Sino-French relationship, which was already badly damaged by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama and his criticisms of China last year.

The Foreign Ministry yesterday refrained from commenting on the sale of the bronze rabbit and rat heads. Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu has said previously that the relics should be returned to China.

So far, the strongest comments on the sale have come from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Liu Jiansheng, a research fellow with the European division of the China Institute of International Studies, said the Foreign Ministry's response showed that Beijing was trying to prevent the issue from becoming a diplomatic matter.