Vietnam responded on Wednesday to demands from China to investigate allegations of a Chinese tourist being beaten by local border defense officers in the northern Vietnamese city of Mong Cai.

"Vietnam has received correspondence from China over the incident in Mong Cai. Vietnamese authorities are working to clarifying information and will handle the case in accordance with the nature of the incident," the department said.

The statement was released by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Consular Affairs during a news conference at which a reporter from Xinhua News Agency asked questions about Vietnam's response to the incident in Mong Cai, which borders China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.