China Sending Two Envoys to Mideast to Discuss Syria

China -- which drew global ire when it vetoed a resolution on Syria -- said Tuesday one of its diplomats met the Arab League head to discuss the crisis and another envoy would soon go to the Middle East.

China and Russia have faced a barrage of criticism for blocking a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the bloody crackdown on protests in Syria, including from Arab nations with which Beijing normally has good ties.

In a bid to explain why Beijing vetoed the resolution, Li Huaxin travelled to Egypt on Friday to meet with foreign ministry officials and held talks with Nabil al-Araby, head of the Arab League, on Monday, the foreign ministry said.

Li, who was Beijing's ambassador to Syria until last year, will go to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to further lay out China's position on Syria, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin added at a regular press briefing.

According to Liu, China's special envoy on the Middle East Wu Sike will also travel to Egypt, the Palestinian territories and Jordan from February 19 to 23 to expand on Beijing's position on Syria.

In a statement released after he met al-Araby, Li was quoted as saying: "China and Arab countries traditionally have very friendly and cooperative relations, and maintain close consultation and coordination on political issues."

"All parties in Syria must immediately stop violent actions and respect the Syrian people's requirements for change and for the safeguard of their own interests," he said.

Li also called for the launch of an "inclusive political process" in Syria as soon as possible.

China has defended its veto, saying pushing through a vote when the Security Council was divided would not help solve the Syrian crisis, which it considers a domestic issue that outside powers should not interfere with.

It has since held talks with the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB) -- one of the main opposition factions in Syria -- in Beijing in a bid to help solve the conflict.

But the United States has called the rare double veto a "travesty" and another Syrian opposition group says it has handed President Bashar Assad's regime a "license to kill".

Since the crackdown was launched less than a year ago, more than 6,000 people have been killed, activists say.