During the six-year Syrian civil war, China has vetoed five UN Security Council draft resolutions designed to undermine the unity of Syria, Osama Danura, a Syrian political expert and a former member of the Syrian government delegation to the Syrian talks in Geneva, told Xinhua in an interview.
"Through using these vetoes, China has prevented the division of Syria as well as possible military aggressions," Danura said.
Throughout the crisis, China's role has been "balanced" as it has been calling for preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, while rejecting all forms of foreign aggression, he said.
Danura also pointed out that China has exerted extra political efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, as demonstrated by its appointing a special envoy on the Syrian issue.
Since his appointment in 2016, Chinese Special Envoy on the Syrian Issue Xie Xiaoyan has always urged all parties in Syria to find a political solution to the civil war.
As a result, the Syrian government is paying close attention to China's positions, Danura said, adding Damascus is looking forward to developing its ties with China in all fields, mainly on the political, economic and military levels.
He noted that the Syria government intends to adopt a "go east" policy, including increasing its engagement with China, the rising economic powerhouse.
Danura believed that China's political and economic weight has made it "an important player in resolving world crisis."
"The huge economic rise of China has made it an important power, attracting the attention of the countries desiring to achieve technical and economic developments," he said.
For his part, Abdul-Latif Omran, editor-in-chief of the Al-Baath newspaper of the al-Baath ruling party in Syria, told Xinhua that China's position on Syria has been welcomed by both the Syrian government and people.
Even the opposition parties, Omran added, have shown respect to the China's balanced role and its diplomatic efforts to seek a political solution to Syria's war.
Omran said China has been backing all political initiatives under the umbrella of the international community, from the Geneva meetings, Vienna talks to the recent Astana talks on Syria.
He hoped to see more cooperation between China and Syria on the economic level to accelerate the reconstruction process in Syria, including attracting more Chinese companies to invest in the war-torn country.
On the humanitarian level, Omran, former chairman of the Syrian-Chinese Friendship Committee, appreciated the aid shipments provided by China, including medical equipment to Syrian hospitals that are over burdened by the protracted civil war.
