China has indicated a potential break with Russia in its position of non-intervention in the wake of intensified violence in Syria, the Financial Times reported. Beijing has not followed Moscow in declining an invitation to meet with the “Friends of Syria” political group later this week, saying that it was still studying the offer. China joined Russia in vetoing a UN Security Council resolution earlier this month which censured Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “Russia’s position is a bit harder, a bit more clear-cut, and China is more low-key,” says Li Weijian of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies. China has less than US$20 million in direct investment in Syria, and only about 100 workers, far less than the 30,000 Chinese workers who were repatriated from Libya.