During his meeting with Muallem on Dec 24, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged another 40 million yuan ($6.17 million) in humanitarian aid to Syria for improving the livelihood of the civil war-torn Syrian people. In October, China had already announced 100 million yuan ($15.8 million) in humanitarian assistance for Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

As a country that persistently opposes interference in a sovereign country's internal affairs, China has also used its right of veto four times at the UN Security Council to help Syria avoid slipping further into the abyss of chaos. For this, China faced vehement criticism from some Western countries.

On Dec 18, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted two resolutions. One of them expanded and strengthened the framework of sanctions on al-Qaida by focusing on the IS group that has been wreaking havoc in Iraq. The second endorsed an international road map for a Syria-led political transition to end the civil war; the Syrian peace talks are to begin in January.

The UN resolution is the first consensus the international community has reached on a political resolution to the Syrian crisis. The three principles reflected in the UN resolution-to seek a political resolution, the future of Syria should be decided by the Syrian people and the UN should play a leading role in international mediation-conform to China's persistent stance on the Syrian crisis.

On Saturday, UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said he hoped that intra-Syria peace talks could be launched in Geneva on Jan 25. Apart from the Syrian government, all the opposition groups that support a political settlement and do not engage in terrorist activities should be invited to future Syrian peace talks so that the reconciliation process in Syria includes as many forces as possible.

The world has never been so close to peacefully defusing the Syria crisis. And aside from its efforts until now, China will continue playing an active and constructive role in the political process in Syria to end the civil war peacefully.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily. wanghui@chinadaily.com.cn