BEIJING - China said on Wednesday that the Syrian crisis should be solved through dialogue and consultations instead of simply putting pressure on the country.

"We think the first thing to do is to ease tensions in Syria in order to avoid escalation," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said during a regular press briefing.

Jiang's comments came in response to a question regarding whether or not China will communicate with the Syrian opposition, as Russia has already received a delegation from the Syrian opposition.

Jiang said that simply putting pressure on the country offers no solution and the correct approach to solving the crisis will be to launch a Syria-dominated inclusive political process.

"We should give Syria more time to carry out its commitment to reform," Jiang said.

Syria has endured unrest since mid-March, when anti-government protests broke out in the southern province of Daraa and spread to other cities.

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