China has slammed Tel Aviv’s recent act of aggression against Syria as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Shanghai for a visit by PressTV

“We are opposed to the use of force and believe that the sovereignty of any country should be respected,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said at a press conference on Monday.

On Sunday, Syria said the Israeli regime had carried out an airstrike targeting a research center in a suburb of Damascus, following heavy losses of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups at the hands of the Syrian army.

According to Syrian media reports, Israeli rockets struck the Jamraya Research Center.

Chunying further urged all sides to “exercise restraint and refrain from actions that may escalate tensions.”

The remarks came as Netanyahu arrived on a five-day trip to China, which will include meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. It is the first visit by an Israeli prime minister since 2007.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry has sent letters to the United Nations and its Security Council stating that Israel’s aggression shows the links between Tel Aviv and terrorist groups operating in Syria including the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi told reporters in Damascus on Sunday that Syria had the right and the duty to defend its people by all available means and it would not give in to Israeli acts of aggression.

The Jamraya facility was also targeted in an Israeli airstrike in January.