China's national flag on Wednesday was flying at half-mast at its permanent mission to the United Nations to mourn Yushu earthquake victims.

In a solemn ceremony at the mission's residence in New York, the entire mission staff and some staff members of Xinhua News Agency observed a minute of silence to mourn the victims of the 7. 1-magnitude earthquake in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong told reporters that after the earthquake, the international community has extended sympathies and condolences to the Chinese government and people, and expressed support for and spoken highly of the government's swift and effective earthquake relief efforts.

In their letters to Chinese President Hu Jintao, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and UN General Assembly President Ali Abdussalam Treki highly commended the Chinese government for its timely and effective measures in the earthquake relief process, Li said.

The UN leaders also expressed deep admiration for Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao's decision to shorten overseas itinerary or postpone planned visits to join the people in the quake zone, Li said.

The representatives of many other countries' missions to the UN, as well as the heads of some international organizations, also expressed their sympathies and support for China, he noted.

The Chinese staff working at the United Nations also made sympathy calls and offered donations to support disaster relief effort, the Chinese ambassador added.