China and Russia drew international ire for blocking the UN Security Council resolution on Saturday, with Washington calling their rejection a "travesty" and another Syrian opposition group saying they had handed
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
's regime a "licence to kill".
Chinese foreign ministry front man Liu Weimin said the visit by the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB) had "long been scheduled" and was not linked to China's controversial veto.
NCB representatives told Chinese officials they would like Beijing "to play a bigger role for an early resolution to the Syrian crisis," Liu said.
But the NCB, one of the main opposition factions in Syria, staunchly opposes foreign military intervention in the conflict -- which is in line with China's long-standing policy of non-interference in other nations' internal affairs.
The other main opposition group, the Syrian National Council (SNC), is widely regarded as the most inclusive of Syria's opposition alliances and has previously called for foreign military intervention.
The SNC blasted China and Russia over their double veto and said they had given a "licence for the Syrian regime to kill without being held accountable."
Liu said Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun met members of the NCB to discuss "the situation" in Syria. He urged both sides of the conflict to "cease all violence... and avoid casualties among civilians".