Zhao Lijiang, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Syria

Zhao Lijang, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of the People’s Republic of China, spoke to U.S. intervention in Syria as part of his regular press conference on Friday, 10 June, 2022.

“Today, more than a decade after the Syrian crisis broke out, there is no end in sight to US military and economic interference in Syria. According to statistics, the confirmed war-related civilian deaths from 2016 to 2019 amounted to 33,584 in Syria. In 2017, the US troops launched what they called the “most precise air campaign in history” in Raqqa, killing 1,600 civilians. A US raid in Idlib in February 2022 killed at least 13 people, including six children and four women.

Unfortunately, the US government, rather than reflecting upon its war-related crimes and responsibilities, has flagrantly plundered Syria’s national resources, plunging the country into an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. According to the latest statistics, 90 percent of the Syrian population live below the poverty line, two thirds rely on humanitarian assistance, and 55 percent are food insecure. The Syrian people’s wealth is being plundered by the US in broad daylight. At the same time, US sanctions deprive the country of the opportunities for development. The Syrian people have decried the suffocating pirate-like behavior and economic blockade of the US.

Under US hegemony, it was not only George Floyd who could not breathe. People in Syria, Afghanistan and other countries that have fallen victim to US military intervention cannot breathe either. It is increasingly clear to the international community that inside the US’s package of “rules-based international order” is in fact the ambition to perpetuate “American interests-first” global hegemony.”