BEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A Chinese envoy has met
the head of the Arab League to discuss Syria, as Beijing seeks
to limit the diplomatic damage from its veto of a U.N.
resolution on the country which has ignited Western and Arab
anger.
China, along with Russia, early this month blocked a draft
U.N. Security Council resolution that backed an Arab plan urging
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit amid his government's
violent crackdown on opposition groups.
The foreign ministry on Tuesday said its envoy Li Huaxin had
an "extremely frank and useful" exchange on Syria on Monday when
he met Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby in Cairo.
China has insisted its veto did not amount to supporting
Assad and was only taken to try and prevent the situation
worsening.
But Elaraby has previously said that the veto had cost China
and Russia diplomatic credit in the Arab world, and Saudi
Arabia's King Abdullah called the veto an "unfavorable" move.
In Libya, protesters hurled rocks at the Chinese
embassy..
"China and Arab countries have a very traditional friendship
and cooperative relationship, and maintain close communication
and coordination on political affairs," Li said, according to
the Foreign Ministry statement on its website (www.mfa.gov.cn).
"Given the constantly escalating Syrian situation, the
purpose of this visit to Cairo was to explain China's position
and policies to the Arab League and Arab countries, and listen
to their opinions," Li said.
Syria's uprising, in which the United Nations says more than
5,400 people have been killed, has become one of the bloodiest
of the Arab Spring revolts sweeping the region since the end of
2010.
China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday in Beijing that it
backed Arab League mediation in Syria but offered no clear sign
of support for its call to send in peacekeepers to halt the
Syrian government's violent crackdown on opposition groups.
The Arab League on Sunday passed a resolution asking the
U.N. Security Council to authorise a joint U.N.-Arab
peacekeeping mission to Syria.
That call has added diplomatic pressure on Russia and China,
both heavily criticised by the West for its earlier veto.
Syria is likely to feature in talks when Chinese Vice
President Xi Jinping visits the White House on Tuesday.
China's top diplomat Dai Bingguo defended Beijing's handling
of the Syrian crisis in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton on Monday ahead of Xi's trip, saying the
Syrian problem is essentially an internal one.
Syrian troops resumed their bombardment of districts in Homs
on Tuesday, marking the 10th day of shelling and sniper fire in
the Syrian city at the center of the violence.
(Reporting by Michael Martina, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)
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