China said only dialogue will lead to a responsible decision on the debate about whether the United Nations should blacklist Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, reports said.

Azhar’s group had claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama in which 40 security personnel were killed on February 14.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the statement amid reports about the United States, United Kingdom and France moving a proposal at the United Nations Security Council to subject Azhar to an arms embargo, global travel ban and freeze of his assets.

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Lu said Beijing’s stand is clear on the matter, PTI reported. “I would like to say that the UNSC as a main body of the UN has strict standards and rules of procedures,” the spokesperson said. “China’s position on the designation of a terrorist by the 1267 Sanctions Committee is consistent and clear. China adopted a responsible attitude, follows the rules of the procedure of the committee and participated in the discussions in a responsible manner. Only through discussions can we come up with a responsible solution.”

On March 9, India had urged the UNSC member nations to designate Azhar a global terrorist. China, also a permanent member of the Security Council, is likely to oppose the proposal. It had previously prevented the Security Council’s Islamic State and al Qaeda sanctions committee from sanctioning Azhar in 2016 and 2017. On February 15, a day after the Pulwama attack, China had refused to back India’s appeal at the UN to designate Azhar a global terrorist.

Lu said India and Pakistan have “experienced a lot” and that China had engaged in mediation efforts. “We made enormous efforts,” he said. “While exchanging ideas security is an important topic and I can say that our talks were wide ranging quite deep.”