Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
from People’s Dispatch, September 22, 2023
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, September 22. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, both the countries announced a “strategic partnership.”
Assad arrived in China on Thursday, on his first state visit to the country since 2004. He was scheduled to participate in the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday and later meet President Xi for the Syria-China summit.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Assad is visiting China on the invitation of President Xi. He is leading a huge delegation comprising Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and Minister of Economics and Foreign Trade Mohammad Samir al-Khalil, among others, with the objective of seeking greater economic cooperation with China.
This is the first visit by a Syrian president to China in almost two decades, and only the second since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1967.
The Assad government is seeking to rebuild Syria’s infrastructure and economy that has been devastated by the war in the country that has been going on since 2011.
Syria has refused to seek help from the West for its economic revival as it considers the West responsible for the war. The US and European powers had given initial support to the anti-government forces in Syria by providing them with finances and weapons. The US still occupies a large part of Syrian territory through its own military bases in the country and through its main ally there, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
I hear the Syrians left a good impression on China. pic.twitter.com/fdIaktxAHN
— Syrian Girl 🇸🇾🎗 (@Partisangirl) September 27, 2023
China-Syria strategic partnership
Syria considers China as one of the few international powers willing to withstand the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US and other European countries on making investments there. It joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in January 2022.
Recently, China extended its support to the Syrian stand against external occupation and the loot of its oil resources by the US. China has also demanded the lifting of all unilateral sanctions against Syria.
On Friday, Xi reiterated that his country will “support Syria’s efforts to stop all kinds of foreign interference, rejecting unilateralism and bullying and safeguarding national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He also agreed to continue helping Syria in its attempts to normalize relations with its Arab neighbors. Syria was recently re-admitted in the Arab League after being suspended for over a decade.
Chinese special envoy Zhai Jun had visited Damascus in April and met with President Assad.
Bilateral trade between both the countries has been increasing since the Assad government took back most of the territory under rebel control with help from Russia and Iran.
China is already Syria’s largest trade partner and both the countries are looking forward to increasing their bilateral trade, valued at USD 426 million in 2022. Their economic relationship is projected to grow in the areas of digital goods and services. On Friday, Xi said that China is willing to import high quality agricultural products from Syria. Both the countries are also looking to move towards conducting mutual trade in their local currencies.
