Cairo, Egypt - Sept 24, 2017
1. Various of Chinese Embassy in Egypt
2. National emblem of China
3. Ongoing press conference
4. Various of China's Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan speaking
5. Various of reporters typing, taking notes
6. Ongoing press conference
7. Xie speaking
8. Ongoing press conference

China's Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan said Sunday that the situation in Syria is heading towards a political settlement, while calling for increased cooperation with Egypt on resolving the Syrian crisis.

Some countries have adjusted their positions on the Syrian issue, and that presents a new opportunity to push forward the political settlement, Xie told reporters after meeting with Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs Tarek Al-Kouni.

Xie revealed that he discussed with Egyptian officials the current situation in Syria in an attempt to coordinate the efforts to push forward the political process.

He said the relevant parties' agreement on the establishment of the de-escalation zones is a reflection of the very strong desire of the international community that they wish all parties in the conflict will resolve their differences so they can speed up the process of political settlement.

But the envoy emphasized that the establishment of the de-escalation zones must be temporary and should not lead to the separation of Syria, and the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria must be respected and protected.

On the war against terror, the Chinese envoy hailed the progress achieved so far, while asserting that the fight must continue because terrorism is a common enemy of the world.

He noted that a new round of Geneva talks on Syria will be held in October, expressing the hope that the international community will continue the joint efforts to urge the parties to maintain their strong commitment to political settlement.

He stressed that this will help maintain the momentum of the dialogue under the guidance of the UN, expecting more consensuses to be reached among the parties.

Meanwhile, Xie lauded Egypt as a very important country with big influence in the region, citing Cairo has been playing a very important role in resolving the Syrian crisis.

The Syrian crisis started on March 15, 2011, and has evolved into a full-fledged civil war that has involved outside powers. But the rise of the Islamic State (IS) in the country in the past years has complicated efforts to seek an end to the war.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 310,000 people have been killed during Syria's six-year war.