POLITICAL ISSUES
IRAN
1. Chinese vice FM to attend Iran nuclear talks
Beijing, Monday, 17 February 2014
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong would be leading the Chinese delegation to the Vienna talks on the Iran nuclear issue.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

2. China calls for confidence in solving Iran nuclear issue
Beijing, Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China calls for greater diplomatic efforts and confidence in solving Iran's complicated and sensitive nuclear issue.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

3. China opposes applying pressure to undermine Iranian nuclear talks
Vienna, Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Leading the Chinese delegation to the talks on Iran's nuclear program, Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong said that China opposes any party in applying confrontation or pressure to undermine the atmosphere of negotiations at the talks and stressed that all the parties involved must resolve the issue with courage, flexibility and mutual respect.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

IRAQ
4. Chinese FM visits Iraq on regional issues
Baghdad, Sunday, 23 February 2014
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Baghdad for an official visit at the invitation of his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari and would hold talks Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other senior officials on bilateral as well as regional issues.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

5. China ready to strengthen all-round cooperation with Iraq: FM
Baghdad, Sunday, 23 February 2014
During his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke of Chinese readiness to strengthen overall cooperation with Iraq. Meeting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Wang said China would continue to support Iraq's political transition and actively participate in its economic rebuilding.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

LEBANON
6. China congratulates Lebanon on forming new cabinet
Beirut, Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Jiang Jiang congratulated Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam on forming the new government.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See Also

SYRIA
7. China urges early resumption of Syria talks
Beijing, Friday, 7 February 2014
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei called on the Syrian government and the opposition to hold a new round of peace talks as soon as possible and push for a political settlement.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

8. China to continue Syrian shipment support: FM
Beijing, Tuesday, 11 February 2014
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China would continue to work with the warring factions to ensure "safe and smooth" transport of chemical weapons material out of Syria.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

9. China calls for dialogue on Syria crisis
Beijing, Wednesday, 12 February 2014
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China calls for dialogue between the Syrian government and opposition in light of a UN Security Council draft resolution on humanitarian assistance.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

10. China urges continued Syria negotiation
Beijing, Monday, 17 February 2014
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying urged the warring factions in Syria to support the mediation efforts of UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

11. China urges comprehensive implementation of UN Syria aid resolution
United Nations, Saturday, 22 February 2014
Calling for the comprehensive implementation of Resolution 2139 to boost humanitarian aid access in Syria, Chinese permanent representative to the UN Liu Jieyi urged all parties to focus on the interests of the people, allow for the comprehensive implementation of the resolution, fully cooperate with the UN and other organizations and make the efforts of providing humanitarian aid across Syria common to all. He stressed that actions undertaken by the Security Council must be objective, balanced and conducive to the applicability of international humanitarian norms and a political settlement to the Syrian crisis.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

12. China supports UN Security Council's Syria aid resolution: FM
Baghdad, Sunday, 23 February 2014
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a joint press conference with the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari welcomed the UN Security Council's acceptance of resolution 2139 that "demands rapid, safe and unhindered access" to humanitarian aid in Syria.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

13. Political solution of Syria crisis should be further promoted: Chinese envoy
United Nations, Tuesday, 25 February 2014
China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Wang Min stressed the need for a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

14. China assists shipment of Syrian chemical weapons: FM
Beijing, Thursday, 27 February 2014
According to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, the Chinese frigate Yancheng collaborated with Russian, Danish, and Norwegian vessels on the fourth shipment of Syria's chemical weapons.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

ECONOMIC ISSUES
UAE
15. Chinese Trade delegation visits UAE to promote Canton fair
Dubai, Thursday, 27 February 2014
The China Foreign Trade Center Group sent a delegation to the UAE to promote the 115th China Import and Export Fair among Emirati businessmen.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
EGYPT
16. Egypt encourages more Chinese tourists during Spring Festival
Hurghada, Sunday, 2 February 2014
Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou and the Chinese ambassador to Egypt Song Aiguo received a group of tourists who were visiting Egypt to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

ISRAEL
17. Israeli MPs protest selling food giant Tnuva to China's Bright Food
Jerusalem, Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Chairperson of the Knesset Economy Committee Avishai Braverman opposed a plan to sell Israel's largest food producer Tnuva to China's Bright Food Company. Former head of Mossad Efraim Halevi, said that the sale "is wrong and will put the country's food security at risk."
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

TURKEY
18. Mo Yan calls in Turkey for more literature translation
Istanbul, Saturday, 22 February 2014
Chinese Nobel laureate Mo Yan called on the Chinese and Turkish governments to make further efforts in translating more works in a bid to better the relationship between the people of the two countries.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See Also

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