China has called for the international community to support a resumption of dialogue by the Syrian parties under UN mediation as soon as possible to ease the humanitarian situation in Syria.

"Political settlement is the only way out," said Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the UN in his remarks on Thursday at a UN Security Council briefing on Syria in New York. "China always insists that there is no military solution to the Syrian issue; it would only aggravate the suffering of the Syrian people," he said.

The pressing task now, Ma said, is that the international community needs to support the Syrian parties in resuming dialogue and negotiation under UN mediation as soon as possible, and seek a solution accepted by all parties through the Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process.

"It is the only way to fundamentally ease the humanitarian situation in Syria and rid the Syrian people of their sufferings at an early date," Ma said.

He expressed profound sympathy to the Syrian people for their suffering as violence in parts of Syria, including its capital Damascus and the Eastern Ghouta region, has escalated.

At least 416 people have been killed in Eastern Ghouta since Sunday night, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, with more than 2,100 wounded, Reuters reported.

Mark Lowcock, undersecretary-general and emergency relief coordinator, who briefed the council via video conference from Geneva on the current situation in Ghouta, 9 miles east of Damascus, urged that action be taken to save lives.

Ma said the humanitarian issue in Syria is closely linked with Syria's overall situation and its political process.

Action taken by the Security Council on Syria's humanitarian issue should help ease the overall humanitarian situation in Syria and consolidate the momentum of ceasefire in Syria, he said.

The Chinese envoy urged the international community to strengthen cooperation on counter-terrorism, adopt a unified standard and combat all terrorist organizations designated by the Security Council.