China continues to push for a negotiated settlement to the Syrian conflict.
"The role that China plays is in promoting peace and dialogue," Xie Xiaoyan, the country's special envoy for Syria, said on Sunday. "We are in contact with all parties. That's one of our strengths."
Xie made the remarks during an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) following a two-day visit to Jordan, where he met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. The two sides agreed there is no military solution to the eight-year-long Syrian crisis.
"A clear message we want to send: We should stick to peaceful dialogue and negotiations. The Syrian crisis has to be solved through a political solution and in a peaceful way," Xie added.
Meanwhile, falling bombs raised smoke over ISIL's last enclave in eastern Syria on Sunday, obscuring the huddle of vehicles and makeshift shelters to which the jihadist group's self-declared "caliphate" has been reduced.
The enclave is in Baghouz, a handful of hamlets in farmland next to the river along the Iraqi border.
Airstrikes and artillery began hitting the area and smoke billowed overhead late in the afternoon as U.S.-backed forces resumed their weeks-long attack.
The Kurdish-led forces launched a final push against ISIL in January after the U.S. announced the withdrawal of its troops from Syria, but their advance appears to have all but ground to a halt.
