China on Tuesday expressed the hope that Nepal's political parties could properly handle differences and seek a political consensus for the peace in the nation.

"We sincerely hope the Nepalese political forces will take the national interest into consideration, hold dialogue, coordinate, and seek a political consensus," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular briefing Tuesday.

Jiang's comments came after an indefinite general strike, called by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), began in Nepal on Sunday.

The big three political parties of Nepal - UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML - failed to reach an agreement on the formation of the new government at a meeting held Sunday night.

Jiang called on the parties to properly handle differences, promote the hard-won peace process and realize political stability and economic development at an early date.

"It is what is in Nepal's fundamental interest, and what is good for regional peace and stability," Jiang said.