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Expressing "grave concern" over a possible Western military strike on Syria, China on Monday asked the US not to launch any "unilateral action" against the troubled country over its alleged use of chemical weapons.
"China is greatly concerned over relevant country may take unilateral action," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing on Monday.
"Any action taken by the international community should abide by the principle of the UN charter and basic norms of the international relations so as to avoid the complicating the Syrian issue and bring more disasters to the middle eastern region," he said.
"We support UN carrying professional objective and impartial investigation. Any action should be based on the results of the investigation. The result should tell us whether the chemical weapon has been used and who used it. Based on that results the international community can take actions," he said.
Hong said the US side has spoken about its evidence on the chemical weapons used in Syria. But he reiterated that there should not be any unilateral action.
"China has noted the reports about the US announcement of the evidence. The US also briefed China about relevant situation. China is opposed to who ever use the chemical weapons. We support UN in carrying out independent, impartial objective and professional investigations," he said.
Hong said no side should rush to pre-judge the results of an investigation by UN chemical weapons experts in Syria, saying a political solution is the only practical way to solve the issue.
China, veto welding member of the US Security Council, has been reticent in backing any military action against Syria.
Officials here say Beijing would not like to repeat the Libyan example when China and Russia backed US and EU proposals to impose air blockade against government led by Muammar Gaddafi, whose regime was subsequently overthrown.
