India-Pakistan conflict: China expresses concern, calls for restraint after Operation Sindoor

"China finds India’s military operation early this morning regrettable. We are concerned about the ongoing situation," a ministry statement said.

China's foreign ministry called on both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and put peace and stability first after India’s airstrikes against terrorist targets in Pak on Wednesday. "China finds India’s military operation early this morning regrettable. We are concerned about the ongoing situation," a ministry statement said.

"India and Pakistan are and will always be each other’s neighbours. They’re both China’s neighbours as well. China opposes all forms of terrorism. We urge both sides to act in the larger interest of peace and stability, remain calm, exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that may further complicate the situation," the statement added.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor Live Blog - India strikes 9 targets in Pak, PoK 

'Operation Sindoor', the Indian forces' retaliation to the Pahalgam terrorist attack comes a a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to leave for Russia on a four-day visit to take part in the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Soviet Union in World War II.

Xi is also due to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he shares a close personal friendship.

China — Pakistan's “ironclad ally” — has condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack and called for restraint, and asked for a fair and swift investigation into the attack. The two countries also stepped up diplomatic contacts during the past few days.

While, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called China's top diplomat Wang Yi over phone and briefed him on April 27.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari.

In his talks with Dar, Wang while stating that China is closely following the developments stressing that combating terrorism is a shared responsibility of the whole world said China supports an impartial investigation as soon as possible, as the conflict does not serve the fundamental interests of either India or Pakistan, nor does it contribute to regional peace and stability.

Also Read - Striking at heart of JeM, Hizbul, Lashkar: All about 9 terror targets struck by India to avenge Pahalgam

“As an ironclad friend and an all-weather strategic cooperative partner, China fully understands Pakistan's legitimate security concerns and supports Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests”, Wang said.

(With Agency Inputs)