BEIJING – China’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that it believes apolitical settlement is the only way to resolve the Syrian issue and calledfor a full, fair and objective investigation into suspected chemical weaponattacks in Syria.

Hua Chunying, the ministry’s spokeswoman, made the comments at a pressconference according to a transcript posted on its website. U.S., Britishand French forces struck Syria with more than 100 missiles on Saturday inthe first coordinated Western strikes against the Damascus government.

Hua said that China has consistently opposed the use of force ininternational relations and that any military action that bypassed theUnited Nations’ Security Council violated the principles and basic norms ofinternational law.