China tells US to stop plundering Syrian resources, pull troops out

China has called on the United States to stop plundering the natural resources in Syria and withdraw its military forces from the country.

"We call on the United States to sincerely respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of other countries, and to immediately stop its illegal military presence and marauding in Syria," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a news briefing on Friday.

China also urged the US to lift the illegal sanctions slapped on Syria and to stop all actions that exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the country.

"The United States has illegally intervened in military activities related to the Syrian crisis, which has led to the death of a large number of innocent civilians and a serious humanitarian disaster," Mao said, adding that his government calls on the US authorities to lift "illegal unilateral sanctions" against Syria and to stop actions that aggravate the humanitarian situation in the country.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, since 2014 the Syrian crisis in the country has resulted in at least 350,000 people losing their lives in the violence, and 14 million being in dire need of humanitarian aid.

In the meantime, the US Congress on Thursday rejected a bill calling for the exit of US occupation troops from Syria.

The majority of US House lawmakers, 321 to 103, voted against the Syria War Powers resolution which required US President Joe Biden to bring American troops home within 180 days.

MG