China opposes armed intervention or forcing a so-called "regime change" in Syria, China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Wang Min said Thursday.

The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution supporting the political transition in Syria, which has been plagued by an 11-month-long political crisis, and calls for the appointment of a UN special envoy to the Middle East country.

The draft resolution, which was drawn up by Saudi Arabia and introduced to the General Assembly by Egypt, was adopted with a vote of 137-12 with 17 abstentions.

It is similar to the draft vetoed at the UN Security Council on February 4 by Russia and China, two permanent members of the 15-nation Security Council. The vetoed draft asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to hand over power to his deputy.

"We condemn all acts of violence against innocent civilians and urge the government and all political factions of Syria to immediately and fully end all acts of violence, and quickly restore stability and the normal social order," Wang said in explanatory remarks after casting a negative vote on the draft resolution.

China calls on the Syrian government to seriously heed the people's legitimate desire for reform and development, and calls on the various political factions to express their political aspirations peacefully and under the rule of law, Wang said.

"We urge all parties concerned in Syria to immediately launch inclusive political dialogue with no preconditions and jointly discuss a comprehensive political reform plan and mechanism," he said.

China understands the concern of Arab countries and the Arab League (AL) over seeking a quick solution to the Syrian issue, and values their important role as well as efforts in seeking a political solution to the issue, which China hopes will be resolved within the framework of the AL through political and peaceful means, Wang added.

On the same day, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said on the eve of his visit to Syria as a special government envoy that China consistently pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and is committed to upholding regional and world peace and stability.

Zhai said China has closely followed the developments of the situation and is deeply worried about the escalating crisis that has caused civilian casualties and affected peace and stability in the region.

China believes the international community should fully respect Syria's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, the independent choice of the Syrian people, as well as the results of political dialogue among various parties of Syria, he said.

"We don't believe that sanctions or the threat of sanctions is helpful to achieving an appropriate solution," Zhai said, adding that actions of the international community and the United Nations regarding Syria should be helpful to easing tensions, facilitating political dialogue and resolving differences instead of complicating the issue.

Moreover, visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Washington told U.S. lawmakers that China aims at maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East and safeguarding relevant international principles and that Beijing wants to continue to play a constructive role in its own manner.

Vitaly Churkin, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, said that in order to resolve the crisis, "there is a need to uphold two principles to which no one seems to object, namely that the violence must be stopped by all sides and that necessary solutions can only be found through an inclusive political process led by the Syrians themselves."

"To a large extent it reflects the worrying trend that causes us concern, to attempt to isolate the Syrian leadership, to reject any contact with it, and to impose an external formula for a political settlement," the Russian envoy said.

Jorge Valero, Venezuela's deputy foreign minister to North America and permanent representative to the United Nations, told the assembly before the vote Caracas opposed the measure because it advocated "regime change".

"We denounce to the world that imperial powers, and their allies, have proposed to trigger a regime change in Syria, even at the cost of further bloodshed," he said.

"The draft resolution attacks the Syrian government, calling for human rights while hiding the continuous and proven human rights violations perpetrated by terrorist groups that commit heinous crimes against civilians," Valero said, calling the measure "an intervention in the internal affairs of an independent state."

Speaking before the vote, Bashar Ja'afari, the permanent representative of Syria to the UN, called the draft a "biased" text that had nothing to do with the situation in his country. He cited several developments that respond to popular demands, including a referendum set for Feb. 26 on a new constitution and the intention to hold a national dialogue.

He said no country could allow the presence of armed terrorist groups, adding that he had "deep concerns" over the real intentions of countries co-sponsoring the draft.

The Damascus envoy called on those countries to stop interfering in Syria's internal affairs and stop adding "fuel to the fire" of tension in Syria.

(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2012)