BEIJING: China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that representatives of a Syrian opposition group would visit China next week, a month after an envoy of Syrian President Bashar Assad visited.

Representatives of Syria's National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change will be in China from Sept. 16-20, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

Both China and Russia have vetoed proposed U.N. Security Council resolutions intended to put pressure on Assad. China has repeatedly said it opposes forceful foreign intervention and called for a political solution in Syria.

Assad's envoy, Bouthaina Shaaban, visited in august when China urged the Syrian government to talk with the opposition.

Representatives of Syria's opposition have visited China before.