China’s UN vote abstention on Syria ‘part of shift towards balanced diplomacy’ in Middle East
Beijing broke ranks with Moscow by not vetoing a Security Council resolution condemning the chemical attack, a move analysts say is part of a wider foreign policy change
China’s surprise decision to abstain rather than join Russia in vetoing a resolution to condemn the chemical attack in Syria shows Beijing wants to carve out a more independent policy in the Middle East, according to analysts.
It also reflected the goodwill established between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump after last week’s summit in Florida, they said.
Russia vetoed the draft resolution at the United Nations on Wednesday because it failed to mention the need for a United Nations’ inspection of the area of the chemical attack, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Russia said the UN’s chemical weapons watchdog should carry out an extensive investigation of the site, the Associated Press reported.
China’s decision to depart from its usual stance of siding with Russia, the chief ally of the Syrian regime, left Moscow the only veto-wielding Security Council member opposed to the US-led proposal. China has joined Russia six out of eight times in blocking UN resolutions against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2011.
Trump – who ordered a missile strike against Syria in retaliation for the chemical attack – applauded China’s decision to abstain and said he was “not surprised”.
