BEIJING — Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in China on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, on his first visit to the country since the start of Syria’s 12-year conflict during which Beijing has been one of his main backers.
China’s foreign ministry said Assad would attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, an international sports event beginning Saturday in the eastern city of Hangzhou.
Assad landed in Hangzhou on Thursday, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was expected to arrive there on Friday and hold a banquet and other bilateral activities with Assad and other heads of state and government attending the games, including Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Kuwait’s crown prince Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmed Al Jaber and Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, according to China’s foreign ministry.
China has been expanding its reach in the Middle East after mediating a deal in March between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and it continues to support Assad in the Syrian conflict, which has killed half a million people and left large parts of the nation in ruins.
China could play a major role in the future in Syria’s reconstruction, which is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. Syria last year joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in which Beijing expands its influence in developing regions through infrastructure projects.
Assad’s office said earlier that the Syrian leader was invited by Xi and would bring with him a high-ranking Syrian delegation. / AP