China on Tuesday urged embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to meet the "reasonable" demands of opposition protesters, AFP reported.
A staunch ally of Assad's regime throughout the six-month uprising, Beijing - like Moscow - has thus far used its Security Council veto to protect Syria from Western moves against Damascus at the United Nations.
But Beijing's statement urging Bashar to "respond to the Syrian people's reasonable expectations" on Tuesday has been taken as a nod to opposition protesters in the country who have weathered a bloody six-month regime crackdown.
Observers also say the statement is a clear message to Damascus that Beijing is distancing itself from the Syrian narrative, which maintains the popular uprising in the country is the work of foreign terrorists.
"China is highly concerned about the situation in Syria, is against the use of violence, and we hope not to see any more bloodshed and casualties," the Guardian quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Liu Weimin, as saying.
"The Syrian government should move faster to honor its reform pledges and quickly initiate and push forward the inclusive political process with the broad participation of all parties."
The move comes several days after Russia also publicly shifted its position, offering strident criticism of the regime and demanding that Assad either reform or quit. Moscow had previously banked on Assad weathering to political storm in his country in hopes of maintaining its lucrative strategic alliance with Damascus, which dates back to the cold war.
The six-month revolt in Syria has crippled the nation’s economy, and led the regime to suspend oil production under an increasing array of sanctions from both Western and Arab nations. Assad's crackdown has resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths to date.
The 46-year-old Assad has repeatedly demonstrated he plans to continue his autocratic rule. Assad pledged to make reforms over the weekend, but he has made such promises before and they have always proved hollow.
Syrian security forces continue to besiege the focal protest city of Homs, where clashes between dissidents and security forces have been sporadically erupting since protests first erupted. At least seven were killed in Homs, and some 20 wounded, on Tuesday evening.
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Beautiful scenery of Mount Etna on Italy's Sicily Island
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BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- President Hu Jintao met Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Wednesday in Beijing to exchange views on the development of the strategic relations of cooperation and partnership between China and Russia.
Hu welcomed Putin's visit, calling the Russian prime minister "an old friend of the Chinese people."
Hu categorized the 16th regular meeting between the two countries' prime ministers that Putin co-chaired with Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday as pragmatic and productive.
"I believe your visit will further promote the development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation," Hu said.
Hu urged deepening mutual political and strategic trust and expanding communication and cooperation at the moment of the 10th anniversary of the signing of China- Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation.
Echoing Hu's views, Putin said the Sino-Russia relations developed very smoothly.
Putin hailed the rapid growth of bilateral relations, noting that Hu's visit to Russia in June injected new momentum for the two nations to foster ties.
Putin told Hu that he reviewed the current cooperation between the two countries in various fields with Premier Wen during the regular meeting on Tuesday, and the two sides also proposed plans for future cooperation.
"Prior to the regular meeting, business representatives from our two nations had signed a series of cooperative agreements with a value of over seven billion U.S. dollars," Putin added.
Hu said China and Russia had eliminated the negative influence of the global financial crisis with both sides' joint efforts and called for extending the scale of cooperation and investment between China and Russia.
He also urged greater cooperation in energy, economy, and trade in order to have bilateral trade reach 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2015.
Putin confirmed the significant progress of the economy and trade cooperation between the two countries. He said Russia is willing to boost strategic cooperation in energy technology, aviation, and space exploration with China.
Putin also extended greetings from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Hu.
State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, and Minister of Commerce Chen Deming also were present at the meeting.
As Wen's guest, Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day official visit.
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