BEIJING - China on Thursday morning issued a yellow-level wave warning for Typhoon Soulik, which is expected to affect the East China Sea, according to the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center.

As the seventh typhoon to hit China this year, Soulik was located above the northwest Pacific, or 1,070 kilometers southeast of Taipei, at 5 am Thursday.

From midday Thursday to midday Friday, the typhoon is expected to whip up sea waves as high as 5 to 8 meters in southeastern East China Sea and in waters east of Taiwan. It is also expected to create 3- to 5-meter high sea waves off Diaoyu Islands during the same period.

Soulik is forecast to approach Taiwan's east coast and affect waters off the mainland's coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian along the East China Sea.

The yellow alert is the next-to-lowest level in the country's four-tier color-coded weather warning system.

The forecasting center has urged vessels in affected waters to return to port and cautioned relevant departments to take preventive measures.