The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued vague statements on Monday that it was “closely following the situation in Syria” and expressed hope for “stability” in the aftermath of the collapse of the regime of Beijing ally Bashar Assad.
Assad, who ruled the country for decades and had appeared until November to have mostly won the civil war that began in 2011, fled the country on Sunday after members of the Sunni jihadist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) arrived almost entirely unchallenged to the outskirts of the capital, Damascus. HTS launched a new military campaign in late November that rapidly resulted in their conquest of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, and a march through several major cities that Assad did not apparently have the means to respond to properly.
Assad centered his foreign policy on ironclad ties to Iran and, later, Russia, staying in power in large part through the support of the Russian military and Iranian proxy terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah. The Russian government did not appear to make any significant moves to support the Syrian military this month, however, while Hezbollah has seen its leadership almost entirely eliminated this year in a war with Israel.
As a friend to Iran and Russia, Assad also enjoyed access to the Chinese Communist Party. He visited China most recently in September 2023 for an in-person meeting with genocidal dictator Xi Jinping in which they announced the establishment of a new “strategic partnership,” offering little detail.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry appeared to distance itself from its support of Assad on Monday, insisting that friendliness to Assad was meant “for all Syrian people” and refusing to support or condemn the rise of the al-Qaeda-affiliated HTS to power.
“China is closely following the situation in Syria and hopes that relevant parties will bear in mind the fundamental interest of the Syrian people and find as soon as possible a political settlement that will restore stability in Syria,” spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters during her regular press briefing on Monday.
“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,” she added.
Asked if the Chinese government was in contact with Assad, the government’s transcript of her briefing did not indicate that she answered at all. Mao also did not offer a direct answer about what China’s working relationship with Assad meant for its future ties to the new regime.
“China’s friendly relations with Syria are for all Syrian people. We hope stability will return as soon as possible,” she offered.
The Foreign Ministry separately commented on Sunday that China was “closely monitoring the developments in the situation in Syria and hopes that stability can be restored as soon as possible.”
“The Chinese government has actively assisted willing Chinese citizens in safely and orderly leaving Syria, maintained contact with those who remain in the country, and provided safety guidance,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to the state-run newspaper Global Times. “We urge the relevant parties in Syria to take concrete measures to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in the country.”
One of those citizens evacuated was apparently a Global Times reporter, Xue Dan, who said in comments to the newspaper that several Chinese journalists fled Damascus on Saturday.
“Residents in Damascus are deeply concerned about the situation going out of control, the currency is devaluing sharply, and people have rushed to markets to buy food and other materials for daily life,” Xue added, though the journalist reportedly said that the situation in the capital was calm when the Chinese reporters left.
Chinese regime-approved “experts” told the Global Times that, thanks to Assad’s departure, “Syria is highly likely to fall into long-term turmoil in the future.”
“Because different regional armed forces have different goals and demands in the highly complicated Syrian issue,” one such expert, researcher Li Xinggang, said shortly before the confirmation of Assad fleeing. “Assad’s government cannot withstand the current change, and no power can build up new order or create a new balance of power immediately.”
China has not in recent history played a major geopolitical role, though it has attempted to change that by elevating its ties to Iran. China welcomed Iran to the BRICS coalition — an anti-American bloc it leads that also includes Russia and India, among others — in 2024 and engineered a tenuous normalization of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia the year before. Beijing has also supported Iran and its terrorist proxies in the ongoing war against Israel that started with the Hamas invasion on October 7, 2023.
In September 2023, Assad visited China for the Asian Games, a regional athletic event. Xi granted Assad a personal audience, celebrating 67 years of diplomacy with Syria and vowing China’s support.
“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 reportedly said, “safeguard the common interests of both countries and other developing countries, and uphold international fairness and justice.”
The state-run Chinese Xinhua News Agency credited Assad with celebrating China for having “always aligned itself with international fairness and justice, and upheld international law and humanitarianism, playing an important and constructive role.”
Assad celebrated in an interview with the Chinese government network CGTN at the time that China “always stands with Syria politically, with a very clear position in relevant matters.”
“China calls for a new type of international relations and rejects hegemony. Syria, being smaller in size, is in urgent need of strategic partnership and participation in international affairs,” he said.