Italian police clashed with Chinese merchants over traffic control in Milan's busy Chinatown Thursday, with several people injured on both sides, witnesses reported.

Hundreds of Chinese merchants staged a protest in the Via Paolo Sarpi area after police fined a pregnant Chinese woman over the use of a barrow to deliver goods.

The clash broke out when riot police were called in to stop the Chinese protesters who were holding up slogans for "commercial rights" and against "police brutality."

Chinese Consul General to Milan Zhang Limin told Xinhua that all the General Consulate staff rushed to the scene to help defuse the tension.

He said the Chinese diplomats urged the protesters to keep restraint and avoid causing the situation to deteriorate. They also visited the injured in hospital.

Meanwhile, the Chinese consul general pointed out that the incident was not an isolated case. During the past two months the Chinese merchants have become increasingly unhappy with the police, who they claim fine them at will or confiscate their goods as part of punitive measures to limit the use of barrows.

The General Consulate is closely following the situation and has requested an urgent meeting with Milan mayor Letizia Moratti.

Source: Xinhua