China cements role as global mediator

In the visit to Syria from March 6 to 7, Li met both Syrian government officials and heads of opposition groups and urged the Syrian government and all parties concerned to immediately halt the violence.

Not long before the two-day visit, Li visited Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where he exchanged views on the situation in Syria with leaders of these countries and the Arab League.

Also in March, Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Ming visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt and France as the Chinese government's special envoy, in an effort to push for a just, peaceful and appropriate settlement of the Syrian issue.

This is a big change in China's foreign policy practice, said Hong Kong-based commentator Liu Heping in an interview with Shenzhen TV.

According to Liu, in past decades, when a crisis happened in another country, China's usual practice was to call for restraint from the parties involved and to form a peaceful resolution through dialogue, but not to take concrete action.

However, in the Syria crisis, China has sent special envoys to mediate. Liu especially pointed out the word "urge" used by the envoy, which indicated a change in China's diplomatic style of absolute non-interference.

China has initiated and been adhering to the "five principles of peaceful coexistence" for the last 60 years. "Mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs" is one of the principles.

Liu noted that the nature of China's active participation in trying to resolve the Syria crisis is different from the intervention of some Western countries, as China respects Syria's sovereignty.

"The mediation is also based on China's role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and responds to the calls for it to become a responsible big power," Liu said.

"Non-interference in each other's internal affairs does not mean doing nothing," said Wu Sike, China's special envoy to the Middle East.

China has forged an image of a trustworthy and responsible country by adhering to its principles and showing flexibility when dealing with various problems according to the actual situations in international forums such as the UN, Wu wrote in an article published in People's Daily.

In the past decade, China has been stepping up efforts to help resolve regional and international issues with the appointments of special envoys and representatives to several areas, including the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula and Africa.

Wang Shijie, China's first special envoy to the Middle East, was appointed in 2002.

Wang said the appointment was in accordance with China's increasing power and growing influence in world affairs.

"Some Middle East countries have asked for China to play a bigger role in the region and urged the Chinese government to send a special envoy," Wang told Wenhui Daily in Shanghai.