China says would welcome visit by Libyan rebels-Xinhua
Thu, 9 Jun 2011 06:42 GMT
BEIJING, Jun 9 (Reuters) - China said on Thursday that it would welcome a visit by Libyan rebels seeking to oust the embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi, in another sign Beijing is wooing opposition forces seeking to take power in the north African country.
"We are ready to receive a visit from NTC representatives in the near future," said Chen Xiaodong, director-general for west Asian and north African affairs in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The National Transitional Council is the Libyan group fighting Gaddafi, whose foreign minister Abdelati Obeidi has been visiting China as a "special envoy" for his government.
A Chinese diplomat based in Egypt visited the Libyan rebel base in Benghazi for talks with the Council, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said earlier this week.
As well, China last week confirmed that its ambassador in Qatar had met Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the rebel's de facto political leader, in its first confirmed contact with anti-Gaddafi forces.
The opening to the rebels marked a shift for China, which was never very close to Gaddafi, but generally tries to avoid taking sides in other countries' domestic conflicts.
The Chinese engagement of the rebels follow a spate of defections by high-profile members of the Libyan government, under sustained pressure from NATO bombing.
China was among the emerging powers that abstained in March when the United Nations Security Council authorised NATO-led air strikes to stop Gaddafi's forces from threatening civilians. China could have used its veto power as a permanent member.
But it also condemned the expansion of the strikes, and has since urged a ceasefire that it says could open the way for a political compromise between the Libyan government and rebels. (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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