China pledged to “actively consider” helping Syria with post-war reconstruction when its new foreign minister visited Beijing earlier this month.
But analysts said the two sides needed to first overcome the major hurdle of militant groups linked to China’s Xinjiang region integrated into the Syrian armed forces.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani on November 17 that the two sides should gradually resume exchanges, adding that Beijing would consider helping the country rebuild.
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He also urged the new Syrian transitional government, formed after the fall of Bashar al-Assad last year, to act against Uygur militant groups that had been linked to the fight against the Assad regime.
Sun Degang, director of the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, pointed to Beijing’s much-needed role in rebuilding war-torn Syria.
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“Syria’s top priority is economic reconstruction, an area where China could play a significant role,” Sun said.