China's foreign ministry said Sunday it hopes Syria "returns to stability as soon as possible", after Islamist-led rebels announced they had taken Damascus and sent President Bashar al-Assad fleeing.
Beijing "is closely following the development of the situation in Syria and hopes that Syria returns to stability as soon as possible", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"The Chinese government has actively assisted Chinese citizens who are willing to leave Syria in a safe and orderly way, and has maintained contact with... Chinese citizens who remain in Syria," the ministry said.
"We urge the relevant Syrian parties to take practical measures to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in Syria," it added.
"At present, the Chinese embassy in Syria is still holding strong, and we will continue to provide full assistance to Chinese citizens in need."
While Russia and Iran have been Syria's closest backers in recent years, China's ties to the country have grown.
China is one of only a handful of countries outside the Middle East that Assad has visited since Syria's civil war began in 2011.
On that 2023 trip, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Assad announced a "strategic partnership" between their countries.
But with the rebel offensive sweeping through the country, the Chinese embassy in Damascus sent an urgent notice on Thursday advising its citizens to leave Syria "as soon as possible".
Meanwhile, Spain will support a peaceful solution for Syria that provides stability for the region, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said following the reported fall of the Assad regime.
Madrid wants "any solution for the future of Syria to be a peaceful one... that benefits the Syrian people and in some way brings new stability to the Middle East and not more instability", Albares told Spanish public television.
"We have to take steps to ensure that it's the Syrian people who decide how they are governed and by whom in the future and, of course, that Syria's territorial integrity is maintained," he said.
The minister said he hoped there would not be a "Balkanisation" of Syria, "with different regions controlled by different groups".
Islamist-led rebels said they had taken the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Sunday.
President Bashar al-Assad is reported to have fled the country, ending five decades of Baath party rule.
Albares said he did not have any information as to Assad's whereabouts, although there were indications that he was no longer in the Syrian capital.
"Although we don't have official confirmation of this, all the official sources I've spoken to, including information forwarded to me from our embassy, is that Assad appears to have fled Damascus already," he said.
"I am also in contact with European colleagues and colleagues in the region. Everyone has been taken by surprise by the speed of events," he continued.
Albares said the tiny Spanish community in Syria -- nine Spanish nationals and around 100 people with dual Spanish-Syrian nationality -- was "well" and located in various parts of the country where the situation was currently "calm".