BEIJING - China on Wednesday said exerting pressure through country-specific resolutions is not conducive to resolving the Syria issue, one day after it abstained from a vote on a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly condemning Syria for human rights violations.

The UN General Assembly's human rights committee on Tuesday adopted a resolution strongly condemning "the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities".

China and Russia - two permanent members of the UN Security Council - abstained from the vote on the resolution.

"China has always believed that dialogue and cooperation is the only fundamental approach to the solution of problems," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said on Wednesday at a daily media briefing in Beijing.

Stressing that China attaches great importance to the current situation in Syria, Liu said China calls on parties in Syria "to immediately put an end to violence and launch as early as possible the inclusive political process in order to restore as soon as possible national stability and social order".

The non-binding resolution, sponsored by Britain, France and Germany, was approved by a vote of 122-13 with 41 abstentions. It calls on the Syrian authorities to implement an Arab League peace plan calling for the withdrawal of government tanks from the streets.

It also calls for the release of political prisoners, an end to attacks on civilians and allowing observers into the country.

"The international community should play a constructive role in order to create conditions for the easing of tension in Syria," China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Wang Min said.

He added that China welcomes the Arab League's mediation plan.

Triggered by anti-government protests in March, the crisis in Syria has lasted for months, and is growing more violent with some protesters taking up arms.

Confrontations between security forces and pro- and anti-government protesters have left more than 3,500 people dead, according to UN estimates.

Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary that the UN resolution is not conducive to solving the crisis in Syria. 

"Any UN resolution should be conducive to easing the tensions in the violence-wracked country, and help maintain peace and stability in the Middle East," it said.

"In this sense, world powers should avoid sending a wrong signal to the Syrian opposition that the international community backed their violent bid to oust President Bashar al-Assad."

The new UN resolution serves as a reminder of a defeated European-sponsored draft at the UN Security Council last month, which threatened Syria with "targeted measures" in the name of protecting democracy, human rights and rule of law. Russia and China vetoed the draft resolution.

Wang Lian, a professor of international relations at Peking University, said: "China agrees with the majority of the member countries in the UN General Assembly that the situation in Syria has become increasingly turbulent over the past months. Therefore, it calls on the Syrian authorities to face up to the issue."

On the other hand, China is opposed to threats of force and sanctions to interfere in other countries' internal affairs, and hopes the Syrian government and opposition can hold negotiations to resolve their differences, Wang added.

Guangzhou Jia Yu medical equipment Limited