BEIJING, Sep. 2 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday voiced its "sincere" hope of political stability in Thailand after a state of emergency was declared in Bangkok in the morning.

    "As a friendly neighbour of Thailand, we have closely followed the developments there and sincerely hope that Thailand can maintain political stability," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular briefing here.

    On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej announced imposing a state of emergency in the Thai capital following violent clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters in the early morning that left one dead and 44 injured.

    Violence broke out when pro-government supporters, led by the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship, marched after midnight towards the Government House compound. It had been occupied by anti-government protesters, led by the People's Alliance for Democracy, since Aug. 26 in its attempt to oust Samak's cabinet.