A Chinese envoy Friday called for independent, just, objective investigation into the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 at a UN Security Council meeting.

"Safety of the international civil aviation must be guaranteed. Our priority now is to establish facts. Pending that, it is not advisable to jump to any conclusion, make any assumptions or trade accusations. We support conducting an independent, just and objective investigation of the incident," said Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, at an urgent meeting on the Ukraine crisis.

"We also call upon all the parties to offer coordination and cooperation in the process of the investigation," said Liu.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777-200, was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it went down Thursday in eastern Ukraine with 298 passengers and crew aboard, according to Malaysian Airlines. No survivors have been found on the crashed plane.

China is "shocked and grieved" by the disaster. "On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I express deep condolences and sincere sympathy to the victims and their families," he said.

On the Ukraine crisis which has lasted for months, Liu said that "China will continue to adopt a just and objective approach, take an active part in any proposal or initiative that will alleviate tension and promote political settlement." Endite

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