BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday declared its strong opposition to two suicide car bombings in Damascus on Saturday morning, which left 29 civilians and security personnel dead and 140 others injured.

"China opposes any form of terrorism as well as violence and killings targeting civilians," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular press briefing.

The current situation in Syria highlights the urgency of defusing the Syrian crisis through political channels as soon as possible, said Hong.

He called on relevant parties to make joint efforts to push the situation in Syria toward resolution.

When asked to comment on a Chinese media commentary that some Western countries are applying a new mode of intervention to Syria and aiming to topple the Bashar Assad regime, Hong reaffirmed that China has always claimed that respect should be given to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of each country.

China respects the right of the people in each individual country to independently choose their political system and development path, he said.

"The international community should learn lessons from the Syrian issue," he said.

He called on the international community to safeguard the purpose and principle of the United Nations Charter and the basic norms of international relations, safeguard the fundamental and long-term interests of the people in the region, and maintain peace and stability in the Middle East, in a bid to resolve the Syrian crisis via political means.