China warns Exxon over Vietnam deal-newspaper

20 Jul, 2008REUTERSHONG KONG: China has warned Exxon Mobil Corp to pull out of an exploration deal with Vietnam, describing the project as a breach of Chinese sovereignty, a Chinese newspaper report said on Sunday, citing unnamed sources. The article, which cited "sources close to the US firm", said Chinese diplomats in Washington had made repeated verbal protests to Exxon Mobil executives in recent months, and warned them its future business interests on the mainland could be at risk.The protests involve a preliminary co-operation agreement between state oil firm PetroVietnam and Exxon Mobil covering exploration in the South China Sea off Vietnam's south and central coasts, the article said. It did not state when the co-operation agreement was signed. The report quoted the unnamed sources as saying Exxon Mobil was confident... [read full story]