China expressed at United Nations (UN) on Thursday its grave concerns about the humanitarian situation in Syria and is prepared to provide more emergency humanitarian supplies.

Li Baodong, China's permanent representative to the UN, told an open Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria that the situation of sustained tension and incessant conflicts in Syria has caused huge casualty and seriously damaged the infrastructure and people's lives in Syria.

"Syria's economy is in the doldrums," he said. "Food, drinking water, medical facilities and housing are in shortage."

According to the statistics released by the United Nations Refugee Agency that more than 220,000 people have fled Syria to seek safety and security as refugees in neighboring countries, and their number is rapidly growing. At present, more than 2.5 million people are in great need of humanitarian assistance and protection inside Syria, and their most pressing need is water, sanitation, food, shelter, blankets and health care.

Li said that China is gravely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Syria.

"We hope that the Syrian Government will continue to cooperate with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs," he said. "We appreciate the efforts of the UN and its specialized agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian relief agencies in and outside Syria in carrying out their work in harsh conditions."

China also appreciates the important contribution of Syria's neighbors in properly resettling refugees, Li said.

"The Chinese Government has always been a supporter of the UN and other international organizations in their effort to alleviate humanitarian situation in Syria," he said. "We have provided emergency humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people and are prepared to provide more emergency humanitarian supplies to relevant countries in the near term to improve the humanitarian situation for the Syrian refugees on their soil."

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2012)