BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China will continue working with all sides, including those involved in relevant conflicts in the Middle East, to maintain communication, step up mediation efforts and pool consensus, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday at a daily press briefing.

Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks in response to a related query about rising regional tensions following military strikes against Iran by the United States and Israel.

China will send Zhai Jun, special envoy of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue, to the region in the near future to work for the deescalation of the tense situation, the spokesperson said.

China is gravely concerned over the tense situation in the Middle East, Mao said, adding that over the past few days, China has intensively reached out to various parties.

She said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has had phone calls with counterparts from Russia, Iran, Oman, France, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE for in-depth exchanges of views on regional situation.

The protraction and escalation of the conflict serves no one's interest, said Mao. China believes that war and force cannot solve issues once and for all, dialogue and negotiation are the right solutions, and political and diplomatic settlement of disputes and differences should be upheld, she added. ■