China open to political proposals on Syria

China has asserted Thursday its openness to proposals regarding conducting an international summit or establishing a contact group on Syria. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin made the remarks at a regular press conference when asked to comment on proposals raised by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kofi Annan, the joint UN and Arab League special envoy for Syria. Lavrov proposed an international conference on Syria last Saturday, indicating it should become the "only framework" towards resolving the crisis in Syria and the only platform to implement the UN Security Council resolutions on Syria. Also last week, Annan proposed an international contact group joining key world countries to bring an early end to the Syrian conflict. "China advocates the international community adhering to the general direction of seeking a political resolution to the Syrian conflict," said Liu. He called on the international community to provide full support for Annan's mediation efforts and promote the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions as well as Annan's six-point plan. "China is willing to maintain contact with all relevant parties on the above proposals," he said. "China has repeatedly said that it has no intention of siding with any Syrian party, and the Syrian people have the right to decide Syria's development path and political system,' Liu said. As long as consensus is made among different parties in Syria through political dialogue and can be accepted by all Syrian parties and the international community, China will be open to it, he noted.