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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou today, his first visit to the country since 2004. The visit is seen as another step towards ending more than a decade of diplomatic isolation amid Western sanctions.<\/p>\n
Assad last visited China in 2004 for talks with then-President Hu Jintao. It was the first visit by a Syrian president to China since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1956. Assad will lead a senior delegation to attend a series of meetings in several Chinese cities, including a summit with President Xi Jinping. On Saturday, Assad will attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou and meet Chinese President Xi.<\/p>\n
Like Russia and Iran, China has continued to maintain ties with Syria while most other countries have turned against Assad over his brutal use of violence and repression against anti-government protesters that erupted in 2011. China has been providing diplomatic support for Damascus for a long time, especially in the UN Security Council, of which it is a permanent member.<\/p>\n
Expanding its influence in the Middle East, China mediated a deal earlier this year in which regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, agreed to mend ties and re-open their embassies. Subsequently, a summit in Saudi Arabia put Syria’s return to the Arab world on the agenda, ending more than a decade of regional exclusion for Damascus. In 2019, China also stated that it “firmly supports Syria’s economic reconstruction” and “anti-terrorism efforts”. It is noteworthy that Assad is visiting China at a time when protests are taking place in Syria demanding regime change.<\/p>\n
Assad’s visit to China is expected to focus on securing funds for reconstruction and international legitimacy. Haid Haid, columnist and consulting fellow at Chatham House in London, commented in a post on the X platform: “This meeting is expected to focus on trying to secure help in rebuilding Syria.\u201d This year, China also hosted Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and a delegation of officials from Afghanistan’s Taliban government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou today, his first visit to the country since 2004. The visit is seen as another step towards ending more than a decade of diplomatic isolation amid Western sanctions. Assad last visited China in 2004 for talks with then-President Hu Jintao. It was the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports","category-94"],"yoast_head":"\n