The Swiss authorities were putting a brave face on the unexpected attack, which caused diplomatic embarrassment.

Just hours after arriving in Switzerland, Jiang lashed out furiously against the government for allowing the protests outside the federal palace building where he was supposed to be received with full military honours ceremony.

"You have lost a friend," a furious Jiang told Swiss President Ruth Dreifuss and the seven cabinet ministers, in an incident that apparently took the Swiss government completely by surprise.

He lambasted Switzerland for its "disorder" and said the government should strive to provide "minimum politeness" for its foreign guests.

In a press conference following a series of meetings between the two sides, Dreifuss attempted to play down the harsh words, saying what happened was a sign that Jiang had been able to voice his feelings with "frankness."

The government was sorry about the way the visit had begun but was confident the incident would not affect the rest of his stay in Switzerland, she said.

Jiang kept Dreifuss and Swiss cabinet ministers waiting for 30 minutes outside the imposing building in the federal square where a full military regalia was supposed to celebrate the arrival of the first Chinese president to visit Switzerland.

Jiang snubbed the ceremony because of the rights protests and rushed into the building as soon as his motorcade arrived, leaving the government at a momentary loss.

What upset him the most, according to Swiss officials, were the handful of demonstrators waving balloons festooned with banners showing "Tibet" and "Dialogue" from the roof of a bank building directly in front of the square, where other people were chanting "We want dialogue."

Dreifuss said there were no attempts to clear the demonstrators from the square or from the rooftop, as this would have presented safety risks.

Police action would also have given more publicity to what she characterized as an "unauthorized" protest.

A ban on human rights protests was in force in Bern, reportedly prompted by requests from Chinese officials.

"We have assured our guest we will guarantee his security and also the dignity of his visit," Dreifuss said. "We will keep to that," she promised.

"But we also have obligations in our Swiss legal system to allow the expression of opinions from minorities and citizens. And we will also keep to that."

Jiang, vice premier Qian Qichen and Dreifuss held closed-door talks for around 15 minutes. These were followed by talks lasting around 90 minutes between the two delegations that focussed on human rights, the crisis in Kosovo and bilateral ties, officials from both sides said.

In a speech at the federal palace, Jiang called for an immediate halt to the NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia and urged a political solution to the Kosovo crisis through peaceful negotiations.

Dreifuss stressed that Switzerland was not involved in the strikes and would not allow any military craft to fly over its territory if the action was not approved by the UN Security Council or other legitimate organizations.

"We think all problems should be solved through dialogue, including the Tibet problem," she said.

Though Dreifuss pressed Jiang on the sensitive issue, she did not present any list of imprisoned political dissidents, an action that human rights defenders regularly pursue with Beijing through western governments.

"We didn't talk about precise names," she said.

Jiang and his entourage flew into Geneva Thursday morning on the second leg of a three-nation European tour aimed at promoting diplomacy and trade. A special train brought him and Dreifuss to Bern.

A state dinner was planned for the evening in the German-speaking Swiss capital.

On Friday, he is due to return to Geneva to give a speach at the Conference on Disarmament, the UN body dealing with disarmament issues.

Also while at UN European headquarters, he is scheduled to meet with UN human rights chief Mary Robinson.

After visits to Basel and the Swiss business hub of Zurich, Jiang flies to Vienna Saturday and heads home March 30.

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Last updated: 26-Mar-99