China will provide Syrian military with 'medical training'

China says it will provide the Syrian military with "medical and nursing professional training," urging a political solution to the conflict in the Arab country.

The Chinese Defense Ministry announced Thursday that the military will provide training for Syrian armed forces on Chinese soil.

“The Chinese military will provide the Syrian side with medical and nursing professional training,” defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian said during a monthly briefing with reporters, adding that the mission is intended “to ease the humanitarian crisis in Syria.”

Wu said China had already been engaged in activities meant “to help reduce the humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people” by providing Syrian authorities with medical equipment and medicines.

“China has been pushing for a political solution of the Syrian conflict and we have always supported the independence of Syria,” he said, adding, “For a long period of time, China and Syria have helped each other.”

China has been a key supporter of the Syrian government since March 2011, when the conflict began. Beijing has also supported an air campaign by Russia against Takfiri terrorists in Syria, saying it would endorse any initiative that bolsters Syria’s territorial integrity.

SS