China declined to comment on Egyptian court rulings sentencing ousted president Mohamed Morsi and other defendants to death, saying the issue was a domestic affair.

“The Chinese side believes that the domestic affairs of Egypt should be decided by the Egyptian people themselves,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said in response to a question about the judicial rulings during a press conference Monday.

“We hope that Egypt will continue with the process of political transition, and realize social stability, economic growth and improvement of people's livelihood,” the spokesperson said.