Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun will be in Syria on Friday and Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a news briefing. Zhai met a Syrian opposition delegation in Beijing last week.
China and Russia drew the wrath of the United States, Europe and much of the Arab world earlier this month for vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at pressuring Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. China says the council vote was called before differences over the proposal were bridged.
Eleven months of bloodshed in Syria have left more than 5,000 dead as the regime has cracked down on protesters and rebels.
Liu said Zhai’s schedule was still being arranged and he had no information on whom he would meet.
“I believe the message of this visit is that China hopes for a peaceful and proper resolution of the Syrian situation, and that the Chinese side will play a constructive role in the mediation,” Liu said.