On December 23, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan who was on an official visit to Syria called upon President Bashar and held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shara.

During the meeting and talks, Tang pointed out that the two countries and the two peoples have enjoyed traditional friendship, adding that bilateral friendly relations and cooperation built on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit have scored remarkable progress since the two countries forged diplomatic ties 45 years ago. He noted that there has been frequent exchange of high-level visits, adding that bilateral economic cooperation and trade have yielded results and there have been ever more exchanges in various fields. He said that China stands ready to work with the Syrian side to fully mobilize all friendly and positive forces in both countries so as to further enrich and deepen bilateral friendly relations and cooperation at various levels and in various fields.

Congratulating Syria upon being elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council by a large margin, Tang expressed the hope that China and Syria will further intensify their coordination and cooperation in international affairs. He also expressed appreciation for the staunch support offered by the Syrian government to the Chinese government on such questions as human rights and Taiwan.

Tang said that China was, is and will be a trustworthy friend of the Arab world, adding that China's support for the just cause of the Arab world will remain unchanged. He noted that the international community has come to realize the negative impact caused by procrastinating the Middle-east question and has stepped up peace-making efforts in the wake of the September 11 Incident. He noted that the key to settling the issue still lies in parties concerned, adding that Israel, in particular, should immediately halt the use of force against the Palestinian people and stop threatening and invading Syria and Lebanon. He said that parties concerned should restart the Palestine-Israel, Syria-Israel and Lebanon-Israel peace talks at an early date on the basis of relevant UN resolutions and the agreements and consensus already reached, adding that China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will continue to work with the international community to press for an early settlement of the Middle-east question.

Tang also elaborated on China's position on the anti-terrorism question. He said that the Chinese government attaches importance to and understands the concerns of Arab countries including Syria on the anti-terrorism question and is willing to intensify coordination with the Arab countries in this aspect.

Extending warm welcome to Tang on his Middle-east tour and his official visit to Syria in particular, President Bashar expressed appreciation for China's sympathy on the Middle-east question and support for the just cause of the Arab world over the years and expected China to play an even greater role in the future. He said that the Syrian people are impressed by China's economic achievements and appreciate China's choice of development mode with its own characteristics, adding that Syria attaches great importance to developing all-round friendly relations and cooperation with China. He went on to say that Syria has attached even greater importance to cooperation with China in international affairs, shared China's position in opposing international terrorism and supported China in cracking down on "East Turkistan" terrorists. He said that as a long-time victim of terrorism, Syria has all along supported anti-terrorism but is of the view that terrorism should be differentiated from Islam and terrorism should be tackled at the root causes.

Tang also reiterated President Jiang Zemin's invitation to President Bashar, which the latter accepted with pleasure.