2023-09-24 10:43:22
Upon entering Chinese territory on Thursday, September 21, the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad He broke with 20 years without visiting that country. A day later she met with the president Xi Jinping in Hangzhou and on Saturday, September 23, both participated in the opening ceremony of the XIX Asian Games.
The Syrian ruler is isolated internationally following his regime took radical measures once morest his country’s population in the 2011 protests, which led to a civil war that continues, with less intensity, to this day. Accusations pile up once morest Al Assad’s forces by the use of poisonous gasestorture and executions.
We had to wait until mid-May of this year for Al Assad to participate for the first time in an international meeting, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Then, the Arab League readmitted Syria to its fold, a decision that did not sit well with the West. Now the visit to China continues.
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Beijing: strategic partnership
State television CCTV reported Al Assad’s arrival in Hangzhou with a 35-minute live broadcast on Sina Weibo, one of China’s most popular social platforms. It was an unusual coverage loaded with symbolism.
“Today we will announce the formation of a strategic partnership between China and Syria, which will be a historic milestone in our bilateral relations,” Xi said. “In the face of an international situation full of instability and uncertainty, China is willing to continue working with Syria to provide strong mutual support, promote friendly cooperation, and jointly uphold equity and justice,” she added.
China supports Syria in its struggle to “resist foreign interference and unilateral intimidation, as well as in preserving national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Beijing wants to support Damascus “in reconstruction and strengthening anti-terrorist capabilities,” Xi added.
China might invest in the reconstruction of Syria following the civil war.Image: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
As the images showed, Al Assad stepped off an Air China plane with his wife, and was greeted with happy music and flags. About a hundred children and young people dressed in colorful costumes lined up and danced.
China blocked UN resolutions
Unlike Iran and Russia, China did not directly support Syria during the darkest part of the civil war. However, Beijing did provide support in other areas, and blocked – along with Russia – different UN resolutions once morest Damascus at least eight times, thanks to its veto power.
In October 2017, the Chinese state agency Xinhua reported that Xi Jinping’s regime was willing to collaborate with the reconstruction of Syria. With strategic investments in that country, the Chinese might gain access to the Mediterranean ports of Latakia and Tartus, opening new perspectives for their new “Silk Road” project.
For Alfred Wu, of the School of Public Policy at the University of Singapore, Al Assad’s visit to China is no surprise, because Xi always seeks to challenge the UN. “This visit is unlikely to expand the New Silk Road project, because China no longer has the financial capacity to expand that initiative. Xi is more concerned with demonstrating that he is the leader of the global south,” Wu said. to DW. That would also be the reason why he traveled to the Brics summit in South Africa, but not to the G20 in India.
In recent months, Beijing has received several senior leaders from countries ostracized by the West. Al Assad’s visit is another sign of that strategy, Wu says. However, Assad cannot expect this to thaw his isolation in the West. “For now he can only travel to China. No Western country would receive him,” says the expert.
Menstruation Menstruation, del think tank London’s Chatham House, wrote on social media that the meeting with Xi would help Al Assad try to convince China to provide aid for Syria’s economic recovery. The official statement following the meeting between Xi and Al Assad assured that Beijing is ready to strengthen cooperation and increase imports of high-quality Syrian agricultural products. However, it is not yet known how much financial aid Damascus will receive following this official alliance and what Xi called a “strategic partnership.”
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