China Tuesday voiced its opposition to UN chief Kofi Annan's nomination of Sweden's Ambassador to the United States Rolf Ekeus as the chairman of the new UN arms inspection regime for Iraq.

Cheng Ranfeng, the spokesman for the Chinese Mission, said Chinese Permanent Representative to the United Nations Qin Huasun had informed the president of the United Nations Security Council, Richard Holbrooke of the United States, of the Chinese position.

According to the spokesman, Ambassador Qin said in the letter, "I have to point out that my mission is in a difficult position to go along with the nominee by the secretary-general, due to reasons we have stressed at the various occasions."

"In our view, the focus in choosing the candidature for the chairmanship should be closely associated with whether or not Resolution 1284 can be smoothly implemented. I still believe that

candidates from developing countries, who may be better positioned to convince Iraq to cooperate with the council, should be given more attention and consideration," Qin said.

The ambassador appreciated the tremendous efforts made by the UN chief in securing a suitable candidate for the post.

Annan Monday notified the Security Council that he nominated Ekeus as the executive chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission for Iraq created by a council resolution adopted on December 17.

Russia and France Tuesday also rejected the nomination.