AMMAN/BEIRUT: A Chinese envoy met the Syrian leader and urged all sides to end 11 months of bloodshed, while backing a government plan for elections. He later held talks with three dissidents.Assad described the turmoil racking Syria as a ploy to split the country. "What Syria is facing is fundamentally an effort to divide it and affect its geopolitical place and historic role in the region," he was quoted by Syrian state television as saying after meeting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun.
Zhai, speaking hours before the shooting at the funerals, said China backed Assad's plan for a referendum on Feb. 26 followed by multi-party elections to resolve the crisis. The opposition and the West have dismissed the plan as a sham.
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"China supports the path of reform taking place in Syria and the important steps that have been taken in this respect," he said.
China's state news agency Xinhua highlighted Zhai's comments that China was "deeply concerned by the escalating crisis." The Syrian TV report quoted him as saying: "The Chinese experience shows a nation cannot develop without stability."
The Chinese Embassy said Zhai held separate meetings with moderate opposition figures Qadri Jamil, Louay Hussein and Hassan Abdulazim, but gave no details.
"We told the Chinese envoy that most of the opposition accept a dialogue if that dialogue is serious and responsible, meaning that the Syrian authorities would implement what is agreed. But the problem with dialogue is that the authorities have lost credibility," Hussein told Reuters.
Beijing and Moscow have been Assad's most important international defenders during the crackdown which has killed several thousand people and divided world powers. The United Nations, the United States, Europe, Turkey and Arab powers want Assad to step down and have condemned the ferocious repression.
Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Feb. 4 calling on Assad to quit and also voted against a similar, non-binding General Assembly resolution on Thursday.