UNITED NATIONS - China supports the Somali peace process and would help to promote the political process of the war-torn African country, Chinese UN Ambassador Li Baodong, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency for March, said here Wednesday.

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At a meeting with Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, Prime Minister of the Somali Transitional Government, at the UN headquarters in New York, Li briefed him the preparatory work of a Security Council open debate on Somalia scheduled for Thursday.

Li said China has always supported the Somali peace process, and supported the transitional government to promote the political process and national reconciliation under the framework of the Djibouti Agreement, a UN-facilitated peace process that began in 2008.

He said the Security Council debate will focus on seeking an appropriate solution to the Somali issue through a comprehensive strategy.

Abdullahi spoke highly of Somalia-China relations and China's initiative to hold the open debate. He also expressed the hope that China could continue to play a key role in the process of promoting the resolution of the Somali issue.