Chinese passengers' relatives hope for early confirmation

China will closely follow the investigation into a piece of debris from an airliner found on Reunion Island off the east coast of Africa as experts suspected it might belong to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which vanished 16 months ago with 154 Chinese onboard.

"We are aware of the reports of the debris and will verify the facts," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei said on Thursday. "China will closely follow the investigation and prepare for follow-up work."