Syria’s relationship with China is entering a transformative new phase. In early November 2025, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani may make his first official visit to Beijing, marking a high-profile diplomatic engagement between Damascus and one of its most powerful international partners. This visit comes less than a year after the regime change of Dec. 8, 2024, and reflects Damascus’s broader effort to reposition itself on the global stage. Both Syria and China are recalibrating ties that were forged under very different circumstances, seeking common ground amid new geopolitical realities. On the agenda are ambitious goals: securing Chinese support for Syria’s reconstruction amid the war-torn country's reconstruction, bolstering Damascus’s international legitimacy, and aligning Syria within a more multipolar regional order.

Relations after regime change

For more than a decade, China had been one of the most reliable diplomatic supporters of the Assad regime, using its U.N. Security Council veto to shield Damascus from Western-backed resolutions and sanctions. In 2023, Beijing elevated relations with Assad to a β€œstrategic partnership,” despite his government’s isolation and the war’s devastating human toll.

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