The United States said clearly that it did not invite Taiwan's "envoy delegation" to President Bush's forthcoming inauguration, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said Tuesday in Beijing.

According to the reports of Taiwan media, the Taiwan authorities would assign an envoy delegation to Bush's inauguration on Jan. 20. The delegation was said to be headed by Lee Yuantseh and include several political figures.

Asked to comment on this, Kong said China had expressed concerns over this to the United States and was clearly told that the United States did not invite or recognize the so-called "envoy delegation" sent by the Taiwan authorities.

As a representative of the Chinese government, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Yang Jiechi will by invitation attend Bush's second-term inauguration.