China urges U.S. restraint after killing of Iranian commander

China consistently opposes the use of force in international relations, the country's foreign ministry said on Friday when asked about the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general. China urges the relevant sides, especially the United States, to remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid further escalating tensions, said Geng Shuang, a ministry spokesman, at a regular press briefing in Beijing, adding that peace and stability in the Middle East must be upheld.

The United States killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force and architect of Iran's spreading military influence in the Middle East, in an airstrike on Friday at Baghdad airport, the Pentagon and Iran said.