China on Thursday said it would welcome a visit by envoys of the Libyan opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) in the near future.

"We are ready to receive a visit from NTC representatives in the near future," Chen Xiaodong, director general of the West Asian and North African Affairs Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said during a press briefing.

Chen, however, did not specify when the visit would occur.

China has recently stepped up efforts to persuade the two sides of the conflict in Libya to seek a political solution through dialogue, Chen said.

China's first reported contact with Libya's opposition force took place on June 2 when Chinese ambassador to Qatar Zhang Zhiliang met with Libya's NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil in Doha.

On Monday, Li Lianhe, a Chinese diplomat in Egypt, went to east Libya's Benghazi, the opposition's headquarters, where he met with Jalil and inspected the humanitarian situation and property of Chinese businesses left there.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi received a visit from Libyan counterpart Abdul Ati Al-Obidi, also special envoy of the Libyan government, on Wednesday.

"As China is deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Libya, we believe the current situation is untenable and it's time to come up with a solution," Chen said.

China highlighted the need to quickly implement a cease fire to stop the humanitarian disaster getting worse and pave way for a political settlement, Chen said.

"Military forces do not solve the problems, but only complicate them," Chen said, citing the fact that months-long fighting in Libya had resulted in heavy casualties and the prolonged fighting would cause further suffering to people of Libya.