China backs Assad referendum, election plan - Syria TV

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun, talks to reporters after a meeting with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) in Damascus February 17, 2012.

LONDON (Reuters) - China backs President Bashar al-Assad's plans for a referendum leading to parliamentary elections as a way to resolve the Syrian crisis, Syrian TV quoted Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun as saying on Saturday.

"We hope that the referendum on the constitution and the parliamentary elections take place in a continuous way," Zhai said during a visit, according to Syrian state television.

China also called for end to the violence that has marked the 11-month-old uprising against Assad's rule.

"China...calls on the government, the oppositon and those with arms for an immediate stop to the violence, Zhai was quoted as saying during a visit to Damascus to meet Assad. "The Chinese experience shows a nation cannot develop without stability.

China and Russia have been Assad's most important international defenders during a crackdown on the uprising which has killed several thousand people and drawn condemnation from the United Nations and Western powers.

Beijing and Moscow have both taken a stand against any foreign intervention or a change of government forced from outside.

Zhai was due to meet Assad on Saturday but it was not clear from the Syrian television report, monitored in Beirut, if the meeting had already taken place.

Assad announced his plan on Wednesday for a referendum on a new constitution on February 26 followed by a multi-party election. The Syrian opposition and the West swiftly dismissed it as sham.

(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas; Writing by Angus MacSwan; Editing by xxx)