BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- China has always believed that a political settlement is the way out for Syria, while the country's sovereign independence and territorial integrity should be safeguarded and respected, a Chinese envoy said here on Friday.

The future of Syria should be decided by the Syrian people, said Zhai Jun, Chinese special envoy on Middle East affairs, at a press briefing held by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Syria has recently undergone some signifiant changes, and most importantly, the momentum for a political settlement is growing, said Zhai.

Still, the country is faced with ongoing conflict and terrorist organizations have not been completely eliminated, said the envoy.

Zhai said that China supports the United Nations mediating role in Syria and is willing to make contributions to an early political settlement together with the international community.

He added that the origin of current tensions in the Gulf is the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Iranian nuclear deal and its exertion of "extreme pressure" on Iran.

China believes that only when the United States abandons its further pressure on Iran can the Iranian nuclear issue return to the original track of being resolved, said Zhai.

China hopes that relevant parties will meet each other halfway and implement the Iran nuclear deal completely and effectively, he added.

Zhai took office as the Chinese special envoy on Middle East affairs in September and visited Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran on Oct. 16-24.