China on Saturday accused the United States and Europe of \"harbouring hegemonistic ambitions\" in Syria, after Western and Arab nations ratcheted up pressure on Bashar al-Assad at a meeting in Tunisia. In a commentary, Beijing\'s official Xinhua news agency said that \"most of the Arab countries have begun to realise that the United States and Europe are hiding a dagger behind a smile\". \"In other words, while they appear to be acting out of humanitarian concern, they are actually harbouring hegemonistic ambitions,\" it said.