China condemns Syria chemical attack, supports investigation

BEIJING — China has condemned this week’s deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria and says it supports an independent investigation under the United Nations.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday that China opposed the use of chemical weapons by any party under any circumstances.

“We condemn the recent chemical attack in Syria, and we support the independent and comprehensive investigation conducted by the relevant U.N. agencies into … the use or suspected use of chemical weapons so as to reach a conclusion that stands the test of history and facts on the basis of solid evidence,” Hua said.

“We have noted the latest developments. What is urgent now is to prevent the situation from deteriorating and uphold the hard-won political process to settle the Syrian issue,” she said, without directly mentioning U.S. missile strikes in response to the attack.