China's Foreign Ministry is calling for Libya's transitional government to begin an “inclusive political transition” following the death of long-time Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said Friday that Libya has “turned a new page” in its history, but did not directly comment on the death of the former Libyan leader.

She called for Libya's National Transitional Council to rapidly embark on a transition to national unity and social stability.

China relationship with Libya's new government is strained after Beijing abstained from the U.N. Security Council vote in March to authorize the use of force to protect Libyan civilians from Gadhafi's forces.

China has since been critical of the NATO-assisted mission, accusing Western leaders of overstepping the U.N. mandate.

China was the last of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members to formally recognize the NTC as Libya's legitimate government.

Members of the NTC warned previously that China's huge investments in Libya could suffer because of its slowness to support the revolt against Gadhafi.

Beijing's standing with Libya's new leaders was further jeopardized last month when it was revealed that envoys from Gadhafi visited Beijing in July seeking to buy weapons for use against the advancing rebel forces.

China had investments in Gadhafi-ruled Libya estimated at $18 billion and evacuated more than 30,000 nationals — many involved in oil projects — at the beginning of the uprising.