China's foreign minister greets Syrians

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with Syrian opposition group leaders in Beijing Monday, saying he supported political dialogue instead of force. After he met with representatives of the Syrian National Coordinating Body for Democratic Change, Yang said the use of force in Syria's 20-month long internal political conflict won't solve the issue, that the will of the Syrian people should be respected and that all parties in Syria should cooperate with new U.N.-Arab League joint special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, cease all violence and initiate dialogue, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Monday. The Syrian delegation is visiting China at the invitation of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, the news agency said.