08/13/2012

China steps up diplomacy with Syrian envoy visit

* Foreign Ministry says Beijing considering inviting Syrian opposition groups
in near term to China

BEIJING: China said on Monday that it would
host an envoy of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and consider another visit by
members of the opposition, as Beijing steps up its diplomacy to help resolve the
crisis gripping the country.

The West and many in the Arab world have
scolded China, along with its ally Russia, for vetoing United Nations Security
Council resolutions designed to exert pressure on Assad. China has said it is
simply trying to prevent more violence. Opposition sources say at least 18,000
people have been killed since rebels began fighting to oust Assad in March last
year.

To deflect criticism and show it is trying to develop a political
solution, Beijing has sent its own envoys to Syria and has already been visited
by both Syrian government and opposition delegations. In its latest effort,
China’s foreign ministry said Assad’s envoy, Bouthaina Shaaban, would begin a
visit to China on Tuesday and meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
The ministry added that China was also considering inviting members of the
Syrian opposition. “To promote the political solution to the Syria problem,
China has always actively balanced its work between the Syrian government and
the opposition,” ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a brief statement on the
ministry’s website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

Read more at Daily Times

Aug 13, 2012 8:51:31 PM | Current Affairs

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
Powerful uncle of North Korea leader in China to talk business SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle — the man seen as the power behind the young and untested dictator — went to Beijing on Monday in the latest signal that the reclusive state is looking seriously at ways to revive its broken economy. The official KCNA news agency said Jang Song-thaek was visiting China, the North’s only major ally, to discuss setting up joint commercial projects. The news comes after leader Kim recently told Beijing that his priority is to develop his impoverished country’s decaying economy. Last month, a source with ties to both Pyongyang and Beijing...
PREVIOUS POST
China’s Gao Shan heads home to face charges on $130M fraud ring after eight years hiding in Vancouver Eight years after he slipped out of China to take up a quiet suburban life in Vancouver, Gao Shan, the accused mastermind of a $130-million embezzlement ring, has returned home to face fraud charges. The sudden surrender ends Mr. Gao’s careful eight-year bid to evade the international reach of Chinese authorities. Reportedly, the ex-banker “came to the conclusion that if he ultimately going to be sent back anyway it might be better if he was sent back voluntarily,” said Clive Ansley, a B.C. litigation lawyer who practiced in Shanghai for 13 years. Mr. Gao is the former manager of the...