Chinese President Xi Jinping received, this Friday (22), his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al Assad, and both agreed on “a strategic collaboration” between their countries, support for the Syrian regime, which is internationally weakened and is seeking resources for reconstruction.
Assad, in power since 2000, made his first official trip to China in almost two decades.
He has two objectives: to seek financial support for the reconstruction of his country, devastated by a bloody conflict since 2011, and to continue rehabilitating the international image of his regime, isolated for some time and accused of committing atrocities during the war.
Xi received Assad this Friday in the eastern Chinese city, where the Syrian will attend the opening of the Asian Games on Saturday, according to state media.
“Today we will jointly announce the establishment of the China-Syria strategic partnership, which will be an important milestone in the history of our bilateral relations,” Xi told Assad, according to Chinese state channel CCTV.
“Faced with an international situation full of instability and uncertainty, China wants to continue working with Syria,” Xi added, before highlighting that “the friendship between the two countries has strengthened over time.”
China is one of the few countries outside the Middle East visited by President Assad since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, which turned into a regional conflict. The war killed more than half a million people, displaced millions and destroyed much of the local infrastructure and industry, including oil.
Syrian power is also subject to international sanctions.
– Chinese activism in the Middle East –
China plays an increasingly dominant role in the Middle East, as demonstrated by its mediation in the diplomatic rapprochement, at the beginning of the year, between Iran – Syria’s ally – and Saudi Arabia, both historical rivals.
Beijing is also part of Assad’s allies and frequently chooses to abstain from voting on resolutions against Damascus in the UN Security Council.
“I thank you and the Chinese government for everything you have done to stand by the Syrian people at home and in their vicissitudes,” Assad declared in his meeting with Xi, according to the official Syrian agency Sana.
“This visit is extremely important due to its timing and circumstances, because a multipolar world is being formed that will restore balance and stability in the world,” added the Syrian president.
In 2023, the Syrian government began a rapprochement with several Arab countries, after years of isolation by war. This normalization of relations was confirmed in May with the return of Damascus to the Arab League and the participation of the Syrian president in a summit meeting in Saudi Arabia.
Very active in a historically strategic region for the United States, China is promoting its ambitious new Silk Roads project in the Middle East, which consists of massive investments in infrastructure to improve commercial connections between Asia, Europe and Africa.
Syria joined the project in January 2022 and expects to receive significant investments.
In a statement on “strategic collaboration”, cited this Friday by the Syrian agency Sana, on the sidelines of the meeting between the two leaders, Beijing and Damascus assure that they “reinforce friendly cooperation in various areas”.
“The Chinese side will continue to provide all possible assistance to Syria and support Syrian reconstruction efforts,” the statement added.
© Agence France-Presse
The post China and Syria announce ‘strategic collaboration’ appeared first in Jornal de Brasília.
Source link
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS