China said Thursday it hoped that Kyrgyzstan situation would calm down soon and relevant issues would be resolved in a lawful way.

"China is deeply concerned about the situation in Kyrgyzstan, and hopes the country will restore peace soon and maintain stability," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters Thursday. "China hopes that relevant issues will be settled in a lawful way."

Jiang's comments came after tens of thousands of government opposition supporters in the central Asian nation took to the streets, violently clashing with military and police forces.

By Thursday afternoon, 74 people had been killed and 530 others injured in the unrest, according to the health minister of Kyrgyzstan's interim government.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Kyrgyzstan were closely following the development of the situation, Jiang said.

There had been no reports of Chinese casualties in the ongoing unrest, she said.

Jiang reminded Chinese citizens in Kyrgyzstan to stay away from danger and warned against Chinese traveling to the central Asian country.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2010)