Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad touched down in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou yesterday (Thursday), arriving on an Air China charter along a China-friendly flight route. It’s his first visit to the country since 2004.
What’s Assad doing there? His objective is to:
- Rebuild his own legitimacy, with the help of a few photos alongside President Xi and other leaders at the Asian Games, and
- Rebuild his war-torn country, where an economic crisis has recently triggered rare anti-Assad protests in his stronghold cities.
And why would China host Assad, who still faces war crime allegations?
Stay on top of your world from inside your inbox.
Subscribe for free today and receive way much more insights.
Trusted by 151,000+ subscribers
No spam. No noise. Unsubscribe any time.
- The Arab League already readmitted him in May after a decade of atrocity-related isolation, cutting the reputational costs for China to follow suit, and
- Hosting Assad plays to China’s self-image in the region as a peacemaker, versus the image it projects of the US as a meddler.
Intrigue’s take: It’s hard to see China investing in Syria again any time soon. Its earlier investors already took a hit when the civil war erupted, and another $2B pledge from 2017 still hasn’t appeared. The insecurity and far-reaching US sanctions just make the costs too high.
But in the meantime, photo ops seem to serve both leaders’ aims.
Also worth noting:
- China and Russia have vetoed eight UN Security Council resolutions against Syria, generally on the grounds that the resolutions interfered in Syria’s internal affairs and violated its sovereignty.