BEIJING, Oct 11: China urged Pakistan to "spare no effort" to rescue two Chinese hostages kidnapped by militant tribesmen, a statement said on Monday ahead of the expiry of the deadline for the execution of one of the hostages.

"The Chinese foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Pakistan attach high attention to the incident and make urgent representations to the Pakistani side," said ministry's spokesman Kong Quan in a statement posted on its website on Monday.

"We express China's great concern for the safety of the kidnapped Chinese engineers and urge the Pakistani government to take effective measures to find the whereabouts of the Chinese engineers, ensure their safety and spare no effort in their rescue."

The Chinese side also requested Islamabad to step up security for Chinese personnel working on Pakistani projects and their project sites, Mr Kong said. In Beijing, the deputy manager of the company where the engineers worked, told AFP negotiations were underway to secure the release of the hostages.