China’s Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan expressed his country’s firm support to the UN role in the Syrian talks in Geneva with the aim of finding a solution to the crisis in Syria.

Chinese Xinhua News Agency quoted Xie as saying, following his meeting with the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Geneva that “China is open to any other efforts and initiatives that would help settling the problems, and it will be ready to cooperate closely with the relevant parties which have a big influence on the peace process in Syria.”

Xie added that “the ground situation in Syria has significantly improved and the terrorist groups have been largely cracked down,” noting that “Geneva talks are facing favorable factors, and China hopes that the Syrian sides will further demonstrate flexibility and promote progress in the political process through the talks in Geneva.”

For his part, De Mistura appreciated the support provided by China, saying that “the objective stance of China has played a constructive role in promoting the political solution to the crisis in Syria,” expressing readiness to continue to maintain close communication and coordination with China.