China embraces partnership, not hegemony: Assad

News Desk - The Cradle 

The Syrian president recently ended his first official trip to China in almost two decades

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says China plays a very important role in the geopolitical sphere, highlighting that when Beijing “talks about partnership, it talks about a new principle, not about hegemony.” 

"Smaller countries need this partnership, and this role played by China,” Assad stressed during an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), noting that Beijing has “stood with Syria politically via its role in the UN Security Council and in a number of international forums, in addition to its clear political positions that are far from courtesies.”

Assad visited China last week for the first time in nearly two decades, where he met with President Xi Jinping and oversaw the signing of several cooperation agreements.

The two also announced the launch of the China-Syria strategic partnership. "Faced with an international situation full of instability and uncertainty, China is willing to continue to work together with Syria, firmly support each other, promote friendly cooperation, and jointly defend international fairness and justice," the Chinese president said following the announcement.

During his interview with CCTV, Assad revealed that bilateral meetings will soon be held in Damascus to develop mechanisms “aiming to transform several agreements into applied work projects.”

“There must be joint projects between Chinese and Syrian experts of an industrial economic nature,” Assad added, highlighting that many nations in the Global South currently live in conditions similar to those that China "witnessed a few decades ago.”

“Nineteen years ago, we visited China; there are such large leaps that I can’t compare that time and now. At the time, it was said that China was called the world’s merchandise factory, but today, I can say that it is the factory of innovation and creativity," the Syrian president said.

Assad later hailed the advancements made by Beijing with its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which Syria officially joined last year. He also spoke about the future of Syria once the 12-year war finally comes to an end.

“If a rebuilding process occurs, Syria has a great future. I am not speaking from hopes or expectations. I am speaking based on the situation before the war. Syria’s growth was at its best before the war, close to seven percent, a very high percentage for a country with limited capabilities. We did not have debts. We were not a debtor country. We used to take a loan and repay it directly. We had a sufficient amount of wheat, we exported vegetables and fruits, and we were developing our industries. Therefore, I can confidently say that stopping the war and rebuilding Syria will make the country much better than before the war,” Assad stressed.

He also spoke about the illegal US occupation of nearly one-third of Syria, particularly its oil and wheat-rich regions, saying Washington is “a superpower that partners with terrorists.” 

“This is the reality in Syria; those areas lose oil and wheat. We were a country that exported wheat. Now we have only a little wheat and with electricity that is less than the minimum standard for life.”