AMMAN/BEIRUT: China said on Sunday it believed a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis was still possible as any armed intervention would only spread turmoil through the region, but Britain's foreign minister said he feared Syria will slide into civil war.
The comments were published by the official Xinhua news agency a day after a Chinese envoy met with President Bashar al-Assad and thousands demonstrated the heart of Damascus in one of the biggest anti-government rallies there since an uprising started nearly a year ago.
A leading Syrian businessman, meanwhile, said the Assad government was slowly disintegrating and might only last six months more.
China has emerged as a leading player in the multiple international efforts to end the bloodshed in Syria and is sympathetic to Assad.
"China believes, as many others do, there is still hope the Syria crisis can be resolved through peaceful dialogue between the opposition and the government, contrary to some Western countries' argument that time is running out for talks in Syria," Xinhua said.
It also criticised the West's stance on Syria, highlighting differences between foreign powers over how to deal with the conflict.
The West was "driven less by their self-proclaimed 'lofty goal' of liberalizing the Syrian people than by geopolitical considerations", Xinhua said.
"Blood is still being shed in Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan, where foreign forces have intervened and come to 'help'."
The words might bring a measure of comfort to Assad, who is now generally reviled in the West for a crackdown in which his security forces have killed several thousand people.
China and Russia infuriated Western and Arab states this month by blocking a draft UN Security Council resolution that backed an Arab plan urging Assad to halt the repression and surrender power.
They also voted against a similar, non-binding UN General Assembly resolution that was overwhelmingly passed this week.
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