On December 7, 2018, Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Syrian Issue Xie Xiaoyan met with Special Envoy of Secretary-General of the United Nations for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Geneva, exchanging in-depth views on such topics as the situation and political process in Syria.

After the meeting, Xie Xiaoyan and Staffan de Mistura gave a joint interview to Chinese and foreign media. Xie Xiaoyan expounded on the Chinese side's principled position, introduced the meeting and efforts the Chinese side has made to promote the political settlement of the Syrian issue, and answered questions from Chinese and foreign journalists.