War can't solve Syria problem, warns China at G20 meeting
Beijing highlights economic costs of military strike on Syria, urging a political solution
China pressed for a political solution to the crisis in Syria yesterday, and warned that expanding the conflict could hurt global economic growth.
Chinese officials made the comments in St Petersburg, where President Xi Jinping was making his debut at the G20 summit. The summit of the world's largest economies was overshadowed by US President Barack Obama's effort to overcome Russian opposition to a military strike on Syria.
Qin Gang , spokesman for the Beijing delegation, said that in a meeting between Xi and his Russian host, President Vladimir Putin, the two men did not discuss Syria "due to limited time", China National Radio and Russian media reported. Phoenix TV reported that the meeting lasted an hour.
But Qin expressed caution about any US-led military response, urging "the concerned countries to be highly prudent".
"War cannot solve the problem in Syria," Qin said. "A political solution is the only way to solve the issue."
Beijing warned that any strike could hurt the global economy by increasing uncertainty and driving up oil prices. "Military action would have a negative impact on the global economy, especially on the oil price," said Deputy Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao , who estimated that a US$10 increase in the price of crude oil could reduce global growth by 0.25 per cent.