Why Bashar al-Assad’s visit to China is important?
Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, continued to restore the country’s foreign relations, on an official visit to China on Thursday at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. This is his first official visit to China since 2004. During this trip, Assad met with many Chinese officials, including the Prime Minister and the President. In a meeting with Assad on the sidelines of the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Xi mentioned the strategic partnership as an important milestone in the history of relations between the two countries. In this meeting, Xi said that the relations between Syria and China have resisted the changes in the international conditions for 67 years and the friendship between the two countries has been stable over time. He also stated that facing the unstable and uncertain international situation, China will continue to make joint efforts with Syria to resolutely support each other and strengthen cooperation to defend international justice and peace. Bashar Assad also stated: We hope for China’s constructive role in the international arena, we reject the efforts of some countries to weaken Beijing’s role by interfering in China’s internal affairs. This trip was made in an important time and situation, because today a multipolar world is taking shape, which will restore balance and stability to the world, and it is the duty of all of us to use this moment for a bright and promising future. Assad’s visit to China is important from different aspects.
Deepening political relations
Assad’s visit to China provides Syria with a great opportunity to further deepen political relations. China, along with Iran and Russia, is the most important ally of the Syrian government. Since the beginning of the crisis, China’s positions have been mostly in the form of emphasizing the principles of the United Nations Charter, including non-interference in the country’s internal affairs and the peaceful settlement of disputes. During more than a decade of crisis and war in Syria, China has always called for an end to the violence between the sides of the conflict. China’s most important role can be counted as defending Syria in the Security Council and voting against the resolutions of the European countries and the United States in opposition to the Syrian government. This country also opposed any military intervention in Syria or the imposition of regime change in this country and has opposed the diplomatic moves of America and its allies in international political and human rights circles fueling the crisis in that country.
Increasing regional cooperation around Syria
One of the dimensions of Assad’s visit to China is to increase Syria’s role in regional cooperation. For the Chinese, Damascus is the gateway to the sensitive region of the Middle East. For more than a decade, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have concentrated their efforts to break the relations between Beijing and Damascus. Even Erdogan was the first prime minister of Turkey who went to China during the Syrian crisis to change China’s positions in support of Bashar al-Assad and Syria. Meanwhile, Beijing assessed the presence of terrorists in Syria as a direct threat to its national security. From the beginning, China realized the fact that if the extremist currents gain power in Syria and in general in West Asia, they will have the possibility of more support for the East Turkestan Movement, which is classified as a terrorist force by Beijing. Currently, Syria is looking at China’s role to encourage regional countries to increase and resume relations with Damascus.
Why Bashar al-Assad’s visit to China is important
China, especially after signing several agreements with Saudi Arabia, played a major role in persuading Riyadh and other Arab countries, including members of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, to return Syria to the Arab League. In these years, Chinese officials have welcomed the improvement of relations between Syria and other Arab countries and supported the immediate return of Syria to the Arab community. From China’s point of view, this development will help the Arab countries to achieve solidarity and development and expand the strategic independence of the countries of the region. On the other hand, it seems that the Arab countries also see the focus of America as their main ally on issues such as the Ukraine war and the containment of China, and for this reason, they welcome China’s persuasive role in rebuilding relations with Syria.
Economic cooperation
Statistics show that although economic exchange with Syria does not have an important place in China’s economy, the two countries have decided to increase economic relations.
During this trip, three agreement documents were signed in the field of economic cooperation and the corridor between Syria and China, which included an economic cooperation agreement and a joint memorandum of understanding for exchange and cooperation in the field of economic development. The amount of China’s exports to Syria in 2022 was about 424 million dollars and the amount of its imports was a little over one million dollars. China’s main export products to Syria include rice, rubber tires, and vaccines, and its main imported products are soap and olive oil, animals, and grains. Syria’s energy exports to China are also very small due to the destruction of Damascus energy facilities.
Fundraising
One of the most important goals of Assad in his trip to China was to attract investment from the Chinese side. Attracting investment is crucial for Syria, where much of its infrastructure has been destroyed by more than a decade of war and is also facing sanctions. It seems that Syria wants Chinese companies that left the country in 2011 due to insecurity and economic weakness to return. According to the Ministry of Commerce of China, China’s investment in Syria reached 135.7 billion dollars by 2019. Investing in Syria for China comes with threats and opportunities. On the one hand, Syria shares a common border with Iraq as one of China’s major energy suppliers and Turkey as one of the energy hub countries in Asia and Europe, and in this sense, it is important for China. On the other hand, China is at risk of facing US sanctions for investing in Syria. The US Senate passed the Caesar Act in 2019. Oh you