Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in China on Thursday for his first visit to the country since the start of Syria’s civil war 12 years ago, in which Beijing was one of his main supporters.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Basha al-Assad will take part in the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, an international sporting event that kicked off on Saturday in the city of Hangzhou, eastern China.
Beijing is expanding its influence in the Middle East after striking a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March. The Asian country continues to support Assad in the Syrian conflict, which has killed half a million people and destroyed part of the country. left the country in ruins.
The Chinese government said the Syrian president’s visit will take ties between the two countries to a “new level.” “We believe that President Bashar Al-Assad’s visit will further deepen mutual political trust and cooperation in various fields between the two countries, taking bilateral ties to a new level,” ministry spokesman Mao Ning said of Foreign Affairs at a press conference.
“China and Syria have a traditional and deep friendship”Mao said, adding that Syria was one of the first Arab countries to establish diplomatic relations with China.
“Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 67 years ago, China-Syria relations have achieved healthy and stable development”he emphasized, noting that Assad “also attaches great importance to the development of China-Syria relations.”
“President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders will meet him to exchange in-depth views on bilateral relations and issues of common interest”he added.
China could play an important role in the future in Syria’s reconstruction, which is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. Last year, the Middle Eastern country joined the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, a mega infrastructure project launched by Beijing that aims to expand its influence through the construction of ports, railways or highways.
Assad’s office previously said the Syrian leader had been invited by his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to visit China, accompanied by a high-level Syrian delegation.
Syria’s worsening economic crisis has sparked protests in government-controlled parts of the country, especially in the southern province of Sweida. Syria has blamed the crisis on Western sanctions and Kurdish-led fighters, who control the country’s largest oil fields in the east, near the border with Iraq.
Diplomatic contacts between Damascus and other Arab capitals have intensified following the February 6 earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, killing more than 50,000 people, including more than 6,000 in Syria. Assad flew to Saudi Arabia in May, where he took part in the Arab League summit, days after Syria was reintegrated into the multilateral organization made up of 22 Arab states.
Since the conflict in Syria began in March 2011 with pro-democracy protests and later spiraled into civil war, Iran and Russia have helped Assad regain control of much of the country.
China has used its veto power at the UN eight times to block resolutions against the Assad government.
Assad’s last and only visit to China was in 2004, a year after the US-led invasion of Iraq and at a time when Washington was putting pressure on Syria.
In recent years, Assad has made several foreign trips, including visits to Russia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Source: DN
