China relics buyer refuses to pay

A Chinese man who won a high profile auction for two bronze artworks claimed by China says he will not pay for them. The sculptures, which sold for 15m euros ($19m; £13m) each in Paris last week, were originally looted from Beijing in 1860. Cai Mingchao, who has identified himself as the bidder, is an adviser to China's National Treasures Fund, which seeks to retrieve looted treasures. He said his decision to bid for the bronzes had been a "patriotic" act. "What I want to stress is that this money cannot be paid," Mr Cai told a news conference. "I believe that any Chinese person would stand up at this time... I am making an effort to fulfil my own responsibilities," he said in a statement released by the Fund. "But I must stress that I do not have the money to pay for this," he said.

Legal questions The two bronzes, in the shape of the heads of a rabbit and a rat, were auctioned by Christie's auction house in Paris last week as part of the estate of the late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner.

China says the bronzes were taken abroad illegally 150 years ago

They had been originally taken by British and French troops from the imperial Summer Palace in October 1860, towards the end of the Second Opium War. China had tried to stop the sale, and later threatened the business of Christie's in China for having gone ahead. But Christie's said the sale was legal, a position backed by a French court. Correspondents say the sale has further soured relations between China and France, following a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader.