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On 19 November 2012, Al Jazeera Center for Studies hosted a round table discussion with Yan Fuchang, the former Chinese foreign minister at La Cigale Hotel, Qatar. Fuchang was heading a delegation from the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, which was in Doha for the first leg of a tour to the Arab region. Members of the delegation included researchers from the Universities of Beijing and Shanghai.
The discussion focused on recent developments in the region as well as possible consequences of a potential downfall of the Assad regime and the impacts of a sectarian war. Syria’s geographical position was analysed in relation to the risks to its neighbours and the immediate region which might follow the fall of the regime. Addressing a number of researchers from the Studies Center and Al Jazeera Network, Fuchang said that China didn’t support any government in the Arab Spring including Syria. “This is because we don’t interfere in the internal affairs of any other country. Political change in any Arab country is the people’s choice”.