ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday urged Syrian authorities to adopt a more inclusive approach during the country’s transitional phase and find a reconstruction plan through dialogue.
Following a swift offensive, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa - on December 8 toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Sharaa was appointed as Syria’s interim President in late January, when he vowed to uphold the rights of all ethnic and religious groups. However, the international community has repeatedly censured the new Damascus leadership for its treatment of Syria’s minority groups.
The Chinese foreign ministry, in an email to Rudaw's Mahdi Faraj, urged the new Syrian leadership to “find a reconstruction plan that aligns with the will of the Syrian people through dialogue, and achieve peace and stability in Syria as soon as possible.”
On Tuesday, Sharaa signed a landmark deal with Mazloum Abdi, the chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to integrate ”all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria [Rojava] under the administration of the Syrian state.”
The statement emphasized that “the Kurdish community is indigenous to the Syrian state, which ensures this community’s right to citizenship and all of its constitutional rights.”
Asked about Beijing’s stance on the key agreement, the foreign ministry told Rudaw that China “attaches great importance to the situation in Syria and calls on relevant parties to respect and adhere to the principle of inclusiveness.”
In recent years, Beijing has stepped up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, increasingly positioning itself as a key actor in regional affairs and promoting an alternative to US influence. In March 2023, China brokered a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic ties after a seven-year hiatus.
