The People’s Republic of China has just provided a significant amount of humanitarian aid to Syria. It takes the form of goods to be allocated to Syrians living in Syria and other goods meant for Syrians who have taken refuge in Lebanon.

Beijing was an important partner of the Syrian industrial-military complex during President Hafez el-Assad’s term, notably on the Scud missiles issue.

Although China did not participate in the military operations during the military aggression against Syria, leaving the defence of the country to Russia and Iran, it did, nonetheless, send a number of instructors tasked with providing training on how to use and maintain various types of weapons.

It is asserted that in 2013, jihadists had used chlorine gas against the Syrian Arab Army and that this gas came from China North Industries (Norinco). Chinese Intelligence Services had discovered that its Western partners had succeeded in siphoning off certain quantities of this substance manufactured in China so that they could accuse Damascus of using chemical weapons.

During recent months, a great many Chinese businessmen have come to Damascus so that they could evaluate the potential for them to invest in reconstructing Syria.