Beijing - A magnitude-5.4 earthquake shook northwestern China early Tuesday, but there were no deaths or damage in the remote, thinly populated area, the government said.

The quake struck the western territory of Xinjiang at about 2 am, said an official of the Xinjiang Seismological Bureau. He would give only his surname, Dai.

Xinjiang regularly suffers earthquakes, but injuries and damage are usually limited in the sparsely populated area.

A magnitude-6.8 quake that struck the region in February 2003 killed 268 people.