Beijing - China on Tuesday protested a French court's decision to allow the sale of two bronze statues looted from China from the collection of late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry repeated its demands for a return of the bronzes ahead of Wednesday's auction. The Qing Dynasty statues, showing the head of a rat and a rabbit, had been taken when the palace was looted during the Second Opium War in 1860.

The two pieces are estimated to be worth 10 to 12 million dollars.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhao Xu rejected a suggestion by Saint-Laurent's partner, Pierre Berge, to return the artworks in exchange for independence for Tibet and adherence for human rights in China.

"It is preposterous to violate the cultural rights of the Chinese people under the pretense of human rights," he said, adding that he hoped the auction's organizers understood China's "justified demand."

The cultural artefacts had to be returned to China, Ma demanded. The auction was against the spirit of international conventions and injured the Chinese people, he added.

China's state-controlled media pointed out that China and France signed an agreement on the return of looted art in 1995.

The palace's looting by British and French forces is still regarded as a massive humiliation by many Chinese.

A Paris court on Monday rejected a lawsuit by a group of Chinese lawyers demanding a halt of the auction. (dpa)