Chinese President Xi Jinping will welcome Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other leaders to the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in the city of Hangzhou, state media said Thursday (September 21). This will be Bashar al-Assad’s first visit to China since the start of the war in Syria in 2011. After years of isolation following the war, the Syrian government has begun to normalize its relations with Arab countries, and participated in international events, including the Arab summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in May. The Asian Games should have been held in September 2022, but were postponed due to the strict zero Covid regime in China, before the Communist Party in power suddenly abandons this policy. The 19th edition of the Games, which were first organized in New Delhi in 1951, brings together athletes from 45 countries and territories in Asia and the Middle East.
Xi Jinping to welcome Bashar al-Assad at the opening of the Asian Games
