UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 -- A Chinese envoy to the United Nations Thursday urged the promotion of the political process in Syria, calling it "the only way" to restore peace and stability and ease the dire humanitarian crisis in the country.

Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the appeal at a Security Council meeting on Syria.

"The Syrian conflict is about to enter its fifth year. The protracted conflict has devastated the ancient and beautiful nation, traumatized its people, led to the spread of terrorism and also created enormous economic and social pressure for Syria's neighbors," Wang noted.

According to the UN, the Syrian conflict has killed over 200,000 civilians and produced over 3.7 million registered refugees.

Acknowledging the great efforts made by all parties to carry out humanitarian assistance in Syria and its neighbors, the envoy warned that "continuous conflicts, rampant terrorist activities, blocked humanitarian channels and a grave shortage of funding" posed great difficulties for the delivery of aid in Syria.

Wang urged the international community to "vigorously promote the political process to resolve the Syrian issue."

"This is the only way to restore peace and stability in Syria and improve the humanitarian situation there," he stressed.

China appreciates the support and mediation efforts made by UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura to promote the "freeze battle" initiative and supports the efforts by Russia and Egypt to promote the Syrian political process, Wang said.

"The international community, in particular, the Security Council, should support the mediation efforts of relevant parties and push the Syrian government and opposition to find a solution as soon as possible," he said.

The envoy also urged all parties to pay close attention to the terrorist activities in Syria, which have become a major cause of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria.

"China firmly opposes all forms of terrorism and condemns all violence against innocent civilians. The international community should jointly curb and fight terrorism," said Wang

A comprehensive strategy balancing counter-terrorism and humanitarian needs should be formulated to better achieve both targets and avoid the harming of innocent civilians, he added.