FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2008 file photo, Chinese U.N. peacekeepers guard engineers building on a new U.N. base in Darfur, Sudan. The murders of Chinese citizens by Islamic militants in Syria and Mali place President Xi Jinping in a quandary: How can Beijing respond effectively without betraying its strict stance against intervention? The dilemma underscores the tension between China’s desire to be seen as a leading global power and its desire to remain independent whiling shunning the U.S.-led Western political agenda. (AP Photo/Alfred de Montesquiou, File)