Syria’s new foreign minister heads to Beijing, signals sharp pivot toward China

Syria’s post-Assad diplomacy is taking shape, and Beijing is the first major stop.

On Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani landed in the Chinese capital for his first official visit since Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow last year. The message he delivered was unambiguous: Damascus wants deeper ties with China, especially on security.

According to Syrian state agency SANA, al-Shaibani pledged that Syria “will not allow its territory to be used for any actions against Chinese interests”. Beijing echoed that theme, saying it expects Damascus to take “effective measures” that remove “security obstacles” in the relationship.

Behind that diplomatic language sits a sensitive issue: Uighur fighters who fled China, relocated to Syria during the early years of the war, and joined the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in Idlib. Their fate has long been a quiet point of tension. AFP reported, via anonymous sources, that Damascus planned to hand over 400 fighters “in batches”. Syria immediately denied it, calling the report baseless.

Still, al-Shaibani’s security-heavy agenda in Beijing suggests the discussion is ongoing, even if neither government wants that acknowledged publicly.

The new minister also reaffirmed Syria’s support for the “one China” principle and formal diplomatic ties with Beijing over Taipei, a statement designed to show political alignment, not just security cooperation.

China responded with its own geopolitical marker. Wang Yi reiterated that Beijing views the Golan Heights as Syrian territory, a pointed reminder as Israel continues expanding its footprint in southern Syria, including into parts of the UN-monitored buffer zone established after the 1974 ceasefire.

For Beijing, the visit shores up influence in a region where it has been steadily reasserting itself.