Chinese diplomats have arrived in the rebel-held Libyan city of Benghazi to meet with members of the opposition and assess the conflict in the oil-rich nation, the government said on Tuesday.

The unnamed diplomats from China's embassy in Egypt arrived in the eastern city "to gain an understanding of the humanitarian situation and the situation for Chinese investing entities", a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.

It said the trip was also intended to "maintain contact with the National Transitional Council", the leadership body established by opposition forces, and urged all sides in the Libyan conflict to seek a political solution.

It gave no other details such as when the delegation arrived or how long it would stay.

The visit marks the second time in recent days that China, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, has made contact with the opposition.

China said on Friday that its ambassador to Qatar, Zhang Zhiliang, met recently with Libyan opposition leader Mustapha Abdul-Jalil, but did not say where the meeting took place and gave few details on the discussions.

Russia also said on Monday that President Dmitry Medvedev's envoy Mikhail Margelov would meet Libyan rebel leaders in Benghazi on Tuesday but would not travel to Tripoli.

Russia, also a permanent Security Council member, and China abstained from the UN Security Council vote in March that gave the go-ahead for international military action against the regime of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

China has previously spoken of its concerns that the NATO-led bombing in Libya was overstepping a Council resolution authorising "humanitarian" intervention in the conflict and repeatedly called for a ceasefire.

Beijing consistently opposes moves deemed to interfere in the affairs of other countries.

Kadhafi's forces are embroiled in a battle with rebels looking to put an end to his more than four decades in power.

China has significant economic interests in the north African state.

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