Xi, Assad jointly announce China-Syria strategic partnership

Chinese President Xi Jinping and visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday jointly announced the establishment of a China-Syria strategic partnership.
China is willing to strengthen Belt and Road cooperation with Syria, increase the import of high-quality agricultural products from Syria, and jointly implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative to make active contributions to regional and global peace and development.
The Syrian president said his country will take the establishment of the Syria-China strategic partnership as an opportunity to strengthen bilateral friendly cooperation and step up their communication and coordination in international and regional affairs.
After the talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents in areas including Belt and Road cooperation, and economic and technological cooperation. The Syrian president arrived in Hangzhou on Thursday to attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games and the relevant activities. This is the Syrian leader's first visit to China since 2004.