Located towards the western end of the Silk Route, Syria has always been at the crossroads of civilisations that straddled the east and the west. This ancient Silk R

Located towards the western end of the Silk Route, Syria has always been at the crossroads of civilisations that straddled the east and the west. This ancient Silk Route is now the basis for numerous Chinese projects and investments under the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative). As Syria’s President Dr. Bashar Al Assad tries to rebuild his war-torn nation after more than a decade of Civil War, PRC’s support towards the nation becomes significant.

In 2018, China committed to making investments worth USD 23 billion in West Asia at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. A significant share of that is likely to go to Syria, while the Chinese tech-giant Huawei has expressed interest in rebuilding Syria’s devastated telecommunications infrastructure. Syria may thus become an important node of China’s faltering BRI. Nations like Russia and Iran alongside rich Arab nations are expected to compete for the projects that shall bring about influence in the region.

As of today, the Syria-PRC co-operation is based on a multitude of factors ranging from combating extremist Islamic terrorism and funding the growth of Syrian infrastructure to mutual support on multilateral fora. While the PRC has used its veto power in the UNSC about 10 times to prevent UNSC action against the Syrian government, Syria supported China at the UN in June 2020 after it passed the ‘Hong Kong National Security Law’.

As Damascus seeks out loans and aid with no political strings attached, it seems that Beijing will be among the few nations that can meet this requirement - unlike Western financial institutions. Even as the PRC’s economic growth falters, it seems certain that it will invest into Syria once the process of rebuilding the nation begins - the influence China shall gain near the Mediterranean and in the Levant shall be a valuable diplomatic commodity in the years to come.

China-Syria Relations

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