BEIJING, Nov. 15 -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday sent a message of condolences to his New Zealand counterpart, Murray McCully, over a strong earthquake that has inflicted casualties and caused property damage.

An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale jolted South Island of New Zealand in the wee hours of Monday, followed by over 50 aftershocks in many parts of North and South Islands amid a tsunami alert.