BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday refuted "groundless" criticism of its veto against a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution on Syria.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said "relevant countries' criticism of China's veto against the UNHRC resolution on Syria is unreasonable and unacceptable."

Hong said China attaches importance to and supports the protection of Syrian people's human rights.

"We think that the greatest wish of Syrian people is to end violence against innocent civilians and restore national stability and social order as soon as possible," he said.

If relevant countries genuinely care about the rights of Syrians, they should facilitate a cease-fire and push for the early launch of inclusive political dialogue, the spokesman said.

It does not help ease the current tension and safeguard the Syrian people's rights by pressing one side of the conflict, Hong said.

"China has consistently stood for properly resolving human rights disagreements through constructive dialogue and cooperation," Hong said.

Hong said China believes the UNHRC should work in an impartial and nonselective manner and opposes country-specific resolutions.

The spokesman made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on U.S. representatives in the UNHRC, who recently declared that the passage of the resolution on Syria indicates that the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, Russia, China and Cuba has been gradually isolated by the international community.

The U.S. representatives also said the choices made by Russia, China and Cuba "go against historical trends."

Russia, China and Cuba on Thursday voted against a UNHRC resolution on Syria that "strongly condemns the continued widespread and systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by Syrian authorities."