China closely follows Syria's humanitarian situation, says president

BEIJING, June 5 -- China is following closely Syria's humanitarian situation and will provide additional batch of humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, said Chinese President Xi Jinping here on Thursday.

Xi made the remarks in his address at the opening ceremony of the sixth ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) held in Beijing, which called on the two sides to carry forward the Silk Road spirit and deepen their cooperation.

"To promote the spirit of Silk Road, we need to advocate dialogue and peace," Xi said.

He said China respects the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. China supports an early implementation of the Geneva Communique to begin an inclusive political transition and achieve a political settlement of the Syrian issue.

With regard to the Palestine issue, Xi said China firmly supports the Middle East peace process. China supports the establishment of an independent state of Palestine with full sovereignty that is based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

China hoped the parties concerned will adopt concrete measures to remove obstacles for peace talks and break the stalemate as soon as possible.

Xi also voiced China's support to the establishment of a Middle East nuclear-weapon-free zone. China opposed any attempt to change the political landscape in the Middle East, he added.

China will play a constructive role in regional affairs. China will speak up for justice and work with Arab states to encourage dialogue as a way to find the greatest common denominator on issues of concern to all parties, and provide more public goods for the proper settlement of regional hotspot issues, he noted.

Around 200 guests from China and Arab states, including Secretary-general of the League of Arab States Nabil Elaraby, and foreign ministers or representatives attended the forum.