China calls for political settlement in Libyan crisis

BEIJING - 19 July 2017: China is willing to make joint efforts with regional partners to seek a political settlement in the Libyan crisis, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.

Wang made the remarks after talks with visiting Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui.

Libya's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be respected and maintained, Wang said.

"China is committed to a political settlement of the crisis," said Wang, identifying that Libya's future should be held by its people and all parties in Libya should resolve disagreement through dialogue and negotiation.

Wang emphasized the necessity of facilitating international cooperation on anti-terrorism, saying that since the war against terrorism in Iraq and Syria had advanced, Libya had become a potential target for terrorists.

He said that while insisting the UN lead Libya's peace process, neighboring countries' concerns should also be heard and taken into consideration.

China has always supported and participated in UN mediating efforts and had provided humanitarian aid to Libya and its neighbors within its power, Wang said.

While in talks with Jhinaoui earlier, Wang also expressed appreciation of Tunisia's support for the Belt and Road Initiative, and said China would encourage more companies to invest and develop in Tunisia.

Jhinaoui hailed China's position on the Libyan crisis and hoped that China could play a more important role to resolving the crisis in a peaceful way at an early date.

He also expressed Tunisia's willingness to cooperate with China on issues such as UN Security Council reform and anti-terrorism.