China will continue to play its role for peace and stability in the Middle East, said China's top diplomat on Wednesday at the United Nations.

"China is a sincere friend of all parties in the Middle East," said Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a high-level UN Security Council meeting on Syria. "We have no self-interest in the Middle East. The interests of people in the Middle East are our interests."

Wang said the five years of chaos in West Asia and North Africa has affected not just countries and people in the region; it has also had serious spillover effects on international peace and stability.

Related parties should adhere to political solutions and have dialogues to narrow differences, accommodate interests of related parties and seek lasting and sustainable solutions.

He noted that the international community should stick to multilateralism when addressing the situation in Syria and other related issues.  "The UN and the Security Council must play their roles as the main channels, while others should act in a just and fair way," Wang said.

Security Council resolutions must be fully implemented, especially resolution 2254, to resolve the Syrian crisis, he stressed.

"We need to progress in parallel in terms of cease-fire, political negotiations, humanitarian aid and joint efforts against terrorism," said Wang. "We hope that this year can bring a turnaround in Syria."

China welcomes the US- and Russia-brokered cease-fire in Syria and hopes it gives new impetus to improving the situation, said Vice-Foreign Minister Li Baodong at an International Syria Support Group ministerial meeting in New York on Thursday.

The US and Russia hammered out a deal on Sept 10, which included a nationwide truce effective from sundown on Sept 12, improved humanitarian aid access and joint military targeting of banned Islamic extremist groups.

Under the agreement, government forces, backed by Russia, and opposition groups, supported by the United States and Gulf States, would stop fighting for some time. Opposition fighters will have the chance to separate from militant groups in areas, such as Aleppo, where they have become intermingled, according to Reuters.

Li said China is calling upon all related parties to make concrete efforts to properly deal with the current challenges and effectively implement and maintain the cease-fire.

"All Syrian parties should return to the negotiating table to find solutions and make compromises to resolve the Syrian crisis," Li said. 

wanglinyan@chinadailyusa.com