POLITICAL ISSUES
EGYPT
1. China urges restraint in Egypt
Beijing, Thursday, 15 August 2013
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said that China urged all parties in Egypt to exercise restraint and resolve their differences through dialogue. He further added that China was concerned about the developments in Egypt.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: People's Daily Online, Beijing

2. Chinese, Egyptian FMs discuss Egypt's situation over phone
Beijing, Friday, 16 August 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called his Egyptian counterpart Nabil Fahmy over the telephone and discussed the ongoing violence in Egypt. Fahmy briefed Wang Yi on the current situation in Egypt and said that the Egyptian government will strive to achieve reconciliation through dialogue and formulate an interim political roadmap.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: People's Daily Online, Beijing

JORDAN
3. Chinese, Jordanian FMs talk over phone on Egypt
Beijing, Thursday, 15 August 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a telephonic conversation with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh to discuss China's position over the violence in Egypt.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

SYRIA
4. China resolutely opposes chemical weapons use in Syria
Beijing, Saturday, 24 August 2013
During a press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said that China "resolutely opposes" any use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Source: People's Daily Online, Beijing

5. China supports UN investigation in Syria: Foreign Minister
Beijing, Monday, Monday, 26 August 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China supports the UN Secretariat in the investigation of reported use of chemical weapons in Syria. He also said that China backs the efforts to conduct an independent, objective, fair and professional investigation in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: People's Daily Online, Beijing

6. China calls for restraint and calmness on Syria crisis
Beijing, Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged all sides concerned to keep calm and restrained on the ongoing crisis in Syria. He said that the only realistic means to resolve the Syrian issue is a political solution as military interference from the outside would conflict with the UN Charter and increase the turmoil in the region.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: People's Daily Online, Beijing

7. Chinese, French FMs discuss Syria issue over phone
Beijing, Friday, 30 August 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called his French Counterpart Laurent Fabius over the phone and discussed the ongoing crisis in Syria. During their talks, Wang re-affirmed China's resolute opposition against the use of chemical weapons while Fabius presented France's viewpoint that the international community should make necessary responses to the use of chemical weapons.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: People’s Daily Online, Beijing

ENERGY ISSUES
IRAQ
8. PetroChina poised to dominate Iraqi oil
Beijing, Wednesday, 14 August 2013
PetroChina Co., China's largest oil explorer, might join with the US-based energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp to co-develop the West Qurna oilfield in Iraq, which would make the Chinese company the biggest single foreign investor in the Iraqi oil industry.
Source: People's Daily Online, Beijing

SYRIA
9. Chinese petroleum enterprises already leave Syria: MOC
Beijing, Thursday, 29 August 2013
The Director of the Ministry of Commerce's Department of West Asian and African Affairs Zhong Manying said that the Chinese petroleum enterprises have left Syria as a result of local turmoil which has affected the bilateral trade between the two countries.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

SPORTS ISSUES
BAHRAIN
10. Yi Jianlian storms back to help China crush Bahrain
Manila, Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Defending champions China defeated Bahrain at the second stage of the 27th Asian Men's Basketball Championship. With a score of 88-66, China stormed into the next round.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

IRAN
11. Iran outclasses Yi-absent China in Asian basketball championship
Manila, Saturday, 3 August 2013
China suffered its second defeat in the first round at the 27th Asian Men's Basketball Championship as they lost to Iran with a score of 70-51.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: People's Daily Online, Beijing

QATAR
12. China defeats Qatar for fifth place at FIBA Asian Championship
Manila, Sunday, 11 August 2013
China finished fifth in the 27th Asian Men's Basketball Championship campaign with a 96-85 victory over Qatar.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: People's Daily Online, Beijing

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
IRAN
13. Iran undecided on attending SCO summit: Spokesperson
Tehran, Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Abbas Araqchi said that Tehran has been invited to the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit but has not yet decided about its attendance.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

14. Iran's president to attend SCO summit in September
Tehran, Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif announced that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will pay an official visit to the Kyrgyz capital city of Bishkek in September to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

ISRAEL
15. Israel's Tel Aviv introduces China's BYD electric buses
Jerusalem, Monday, 5 August 2013
Israeli Dan bus company inaugurated the country's first electric bus service in cooperation with China's BYD automaker. The Israeli firm has earmarked 400 million NIS (about US$ 111 million) to replace a quarter of its current fleet of 1,300 diesel guzzlers with the electric model over the next five years.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: People's Daily Online, Beijing

SYRIA
16. U.S., Syrian poets win int'l prize in China
Xining, Monday, 12 August 2013
U.S. poet Simon Ortiz and Syrian poet Adonis won the third International Golden Tibetan Antelope Poetry Prize at the fourth Qinghai Lake International Poetry Festival, which concluded in the city of Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

COMPILED BY DIPANWITA CHAKRAVORTTY

Dipanwita Chakravortty is a doctoral candidate in School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.  Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy