Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the head of the jihadist terror organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), met with China ambassador to Syria this weekend, the first time he has personally devoted time to his country’s relationship with Beijing.
The Chinese Communist Party has long sought an influential role in Middle East politics, with little to show for its efforts, and in Syria maintained a supportive but distant position regarding ousted dictator Bashar Assad. While the Assad dictatorship faced onerous human rights sanctions imposed by many of the world’s wealthiest countries, China opposed United Nations action against Assad’s war atrocities and welcomed him to Beijing as an esteemed guest as recently as two years ago. In return, Assad joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a predatory loan program for poor countries, and spoke positively of the communist government.
China’s position in support of Assad makes it an unnatural ally to the current government of Syria, a junta led by the leadership of HTS. HTS, one of a long list of terrorist and paramilitary organizations that participated in the Syrian Civil War that erupted in 2011, ended an extended period of stalemate in the war with a surprise attack on Aleppo in November that resulted in the collapse of Assad’s military and the dictator himself fleeing to Russia between December 7 and 8, 2024.
Ahmed al-Sharaa led HTS under the jihadi name “Abu Mohammed al-Jolani” and established the militia as an independent entity after its broke off from its parent entity, al-Qaeda. Following the collapse of the Assad regime, Sharaa abandoned his war fatigues and his nom de guerre and began telling journalists and potentially helpful Western representatives that he hoped to establish an “inclusive” government in his country. HTS remains a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, however, and Sharaa has insisted that his would be an explicitly Islamist government, causing global alarm regarding the fate of Syria’s Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities. A council of HTS leaders presiding over the creation of a new government named Sharaa interim president of the country in late January.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) – once a mouthpiece of the Assad regime since repurposed to serve Sharaa’s – reported on Friday that Sharaa held a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Damascus Shi Hongwei. The entire report was one sentence long.
“President of the Syrian Arab Republic Ahmad al-Sharaa received Mr. Shi Hongwei, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Syria,” the report read, “and his accompanying delegation, at the People’s Palace in the presence of Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has offered no details on the meeting at press time. The subject was not included in the customary English-language transcript China publishes of its daily Foreign Ministry press briefings on Monday.
Multiple reports on the encounter noted that this was the first publicly known exchange between the new Syrian regime and China, making the complete dearth of information regarding what Sharaa discussed with the ambassador peculiar. The regional outlet Arab News reported that, in the aftermath of Assad fleeing the country, unknown persons looted the Chinese embassy in Damascus, elevating concerns in Beijing that the Communist Party would no longer be able to safely maintain a presence in the country. While Assad’s closest international alliances were with Iran and Russia, both of which offered Assad military aid throughout the civil war, those two countries are closely allied with China, creating the space for a friendly relationship between Assad and genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping. China was particularly friendly to the Assad regime at the United Nations, where it vetoed Security Council resolutions intended to address atrocities committed by the Assad regime eight times – which, the Atlantic Council noted in December, represented half of the Security Council vetoes China has ever made.
China allowed Syria to join the BRI in 2022, at a time during which Assad appeared to have secured his regime and rebel attacks were limited. The BRI works by offering predatory loans at high interest rates to impoverished countries so that they can sign deals with Chinese contractors for various infrastructure projects. War-torn countries are especially vulnerable to BRI subjugation because they require so much reconstruction. Chinese state media effusively celebrated Assad’s decision to join the BRI at the time.
As neither Sharaa nor the Chinese government have offered details of their meeting, it is unclear if Syria remains committed to the BRI under the new regime or will abandon the project.
Assad’s final visit to China as dictator of Syria occurred in September 2023. Xi Jinping welcomed Assad to Beijing on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries and promised his regime long-term backing.
“China will continue to work with Syria to firmly support each other on issues concerning the two sides’ respective core interests and major concerns,” Xi was quoted as telling Assad, “safeguard the common interests of both countries and other developing countries, and uphold international fairness and justice.”
The Chinese Communist Party offered no words of support to Assad following the HTS capture of Aleppo and the rapidfire reports of new conquests by the jihadist militia.
The week after Assad fled to Moscow, the Chinese Foreign Ministry appeared to accept the fall of the Assad dynasty, telling reporters, “The future of Syria should be decided by the Syrian people. We hope relevant parties will find a political settlement to restore stability and order in Syria for the long-term and fundamental interest of the Syrian people.”
A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, clarified at the time that “China’s friendly relations with Syria are for all Syrian people,” not necessarily for Assad.
At the G20 Foreign Minister Summit in South Africa last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi mentioned Syria in passing, appearing to call for the world to accept Sharaa as the legitimate leader of the country.
“The international community should respect the choice made by the Syrian people,” Wang said, “and at the same time, strictly prevent extremist forces from spreading and gaining strength in Syria and deny violent terrorists any safe haven in Syria.”
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