Syrian President Bashar al Assad arrived in China this Thursday (September 21, 2023) for his first visit to this country since 2004, Chinese state television CCTV at Hangzhou Airport and international news agencies reported.
The Syrian regime leader is expected to attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games on Saturday, where Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet several foreign leaders.
China is an ally of Assad and regularly abstains from voting on resolutions against Damascus in the UN Security Council.
The Damascus regime began 2023 with a rapprochement with numerous Arab countries after years of isolation due to the civil war that broke out in the country in 2011.
This normalization of relations was confirmed in May with the return of Damascus to the Arab League and the participation of the Syrian president in a summit in Saudi Arabia.
China is playing an increasingly dominant role in the Middle East, as shown by its role as a mediator in the diplomatic rapprochement between historic rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia earlier this year.
In addition, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his counterparts from Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, and Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, paraded through Beijing this year.
In October, China will also receive Russian President Vladimir Putin; a delegation from the Afghan Taliban government is currently in the Asian country.
afp/Portal/ap/rr