Sata, one of the five presidential candidates fielded for the Sept. 28 elections, was quoted Monday by newspaper The Post as saying during a rally last Saturday that "Taiwan is a sovereign state."

Speaking at a news conference on Monday, counselor Du Yiping of the Chinese embassy said the statement made by Sata, leader of the Patriotic Front (PF), seriously damaged the traditional friendship between China and Zambia.

Du said the statement also seriously interfered with China's internal affairs.

It not only hurt the feelings of all Chinese people but also ran contrary to the one-China policy pursued by the successive Zambian governments and supported by the Zambian people, the counselor said.

"We solemnly condemn his irresponsible wrong remarks and deeply concerned over them," said Du.

"There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory, which has been widely recognized by an overwhelming majority of countries in the world," said the counselor.

Also on Monday, Zambian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification of China condemned the statement, saying Sata was ignorant to make such remarks.

In a statement, the council said the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory is widely recognized and accepted by the international community.

Meanwhile, a senior official from the Zambian ruling party termed Sata's statement as "nonsense."

Michael Mabenga, national chairman of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), said Monday in an exclusive interview with Xinhua that "I strongly denounce such kind of irresponsible statement made by Sata as it will destroy the cordial relationship between Zambia and China."