China holds talks with Libyan rebels

A Chinese diplomat has met with the leader of Libya's opposition to discuss the conflict in the oil-rich nation, Beijing said Friday, in the first announcement of any contact with the group. China's ambassador to Qatar, Zhang Zhiliang, held talks with Mustapha Abdul-Jalil of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) in recent days, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement. "The two sides exchanged views on the Libyan situation," Hong said. "China's position on the Libyan issue is clear -- we hope that the Libyan crisis can be resolved through political means and that the future of Libya is decided by the Libyan people." The statement did not say when or where the meeting took place. The announcement of talks between China, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, and the rebel leadership comes as explosions rattled Tripoli overnight and Russia prepared to send an envoy to mediate the conflict. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow would send an envoy to Tripoli and the rebels' capital of Benghazi to mediate, the Italian news agency ANSA reported, quoting diplomats. "We would like as much as possible for the problem to be resolved through negotiations and not by military means," Medvedev told reporters in Rome. Russia, also a permanent Security Council member, and China abstained from the UN Security Council vote in March that gave the go-ahead for international military action against the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. China has previously spoken of its concerns that the NATO-led bombing in Libya was overstepping a Council resolution authorising "humanitarian" intervention in the conflict and repeatedly called for a ceasefire. Beijing consistently opposes moves deemed to interfere in the affairs of other countries. Gaddafi's forces are embroiled in a battle with rebels looking to put an end to his more than four decades in power. China has significant economic interests in the north African state. Beijing mounted a massive land, sea and air operation to evacuate nearly 36,000 of its nationals -- most of them working in the railways, oil and telecom sectors -- from Libya after the fighting broke out in February.