Syria & China Establish 'Strategic Partnership' At Xi-Assad Meeting

(MNI) London - In his first visit to China in almost 20 years, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping in the city of Hangzhou on the sidelines of the Asian games. While Syria sits as a small market within the Middle East, China's engagement with a leader who remains a pariah in the West will come as some cause for concern in Washington, D.C. This is notable given the Arab League's recent tentative moves to bring Syria back into the fold after over a decade of isolation.

• Chinese state media reports that the two nations will establish a strategic partnership, with Xi stating that 'China is willing to work with Syria to advance friendly cooperation.'
• For years, Iran has been the main international backer of the Syrian regime. However, following 12 years of civil war, the Assad gov't is seeking greater international financial assistance to help rebuild.
• Rampant corruption and questions over the long-term stability of the regime are likely to mitigate the prospect of major Chinese investment. Nevertheless, the strategic partnership comes as another signal of Beijing's increasing interest in the MENA region and ability to engage in major diplomatic ventures (most notably the Saudi-Iran normalisation deal), which historically has been the kind of endeavour pursued by the US.