GENEVA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The reconstruction of Syria will need the help of all the international community, China's Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan said on Friday.
Xie briefed journalists at the Chinese mission to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva as Syrian peace talks continued here.
When asked about participation in the eventual reconstruction of Syria, Xie said China is "ready to participate".
He noted that the reconstruction of Syria will need a lot of money, estimated at 200 billion U.S. dollars.
The money would be spent on infrastructure that the people of Syria need such as electricity, water supplies, roads, railways, hospitals and schools following the destruction from seven years of conflict.
"The tasks ahead are daunting," he said. "A few countries cannot undertake all the projects. It needs a concerted effort by the international community."
Xie noted, however, that for there to be reconstruction, "we need the situation to be further improved".
"There is the necessity to make sure that the situation is stable enough. But that does not mean we don't think about the issue now," said the envoy.
There is a need to draw up plans now, so that when reconstruction starts we are prepared and ready to go, he added.
The envoy also noted that when looking at the reconstruction of Syria, it is necessary to think of more than just the economic aspect.
"When we talk about reconstruction, we really need to think about multi-dimensional reconstruction," said Xie, adding that Syria also needs cultural, societal, and security reconstruction.
When asked if countries like China and Russia could go it alone working on the reconstruction of Syria as some Western countries, including the EU, have said they will not do so if President Bashar al-Assad remains the leader.
Xie said that just as it was decided that the parties taking part in the Geneva peace talks were told to come without preconditions, the same should apply to reconstruction.
