President Al-Assad to Zhao Leji: China’s initiatives constitute hope for a new world 

Beijing (ST) – President Bashar Al-Assad on Monday met with the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Zhao Leji in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

President Al-Assad considered the transition from the old world, which relies on power, to the new world, which relies on morality, must start from the role played by China which adopts an ethical policy and presents initiatives to the entire world, pointing out that the initiatives proposed by the Chinese President Xi Jinping constitute a hope and open the doors for a new world.

President Al-Assad said: “I and the accompanying delegation are delighted to be in China after 20 years. China has assumed a great global position and has taken important steps in the economic and technical fields and today it is playing a major political role”.

“I want to begin by thanking the Chinese people and the Chinese state institutions that stood by Syria during the cruel war that has been targeting the country for thirteen years today and that has included unfair economic blockade to starve the Syrian people, supporting terrorism which left massive destruction in the country,” President Al-Assad said.

“China has stood with us politically starting from the Chinese policy that is based on rejecting interference in the internal affairs of countries and rejecting terrorism. It also stood with us economically and humanitarianly by helping the Syrian people to alleviate the effects of the siege. For all of this, we extend our great thanks to you for everything that China has done”, he added.

“In the same context, we are looking forward to China’s present and future role,” President Al-Assad continued.

“Syria and many countries of the world are looking forward to this clearly defined role through three initiatives: the Global Civilization Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Development Initiative, which means that we exchange benefits as peoples instead of winning at each other’s expense.”

President Al-Assad stated: “We believe that these initiatives, which receive support from most of the peoples and countries of the world, except for a few, are crucial basis for launching any bilateral or collective cooperation between you and us, between China and the rest of the world’s countries, and among the countries of the world in general.”

“I hope that this visit will form a basis for a more stable future for Syria, for the Middle East, and for the world in general”, he added.

President Al-Assad congratulated China for its success in concluding the Saudi-Iranian agreement, saying that this success is evidence that China today constitutes an international, civilized, political and moral force.

Najla Khoury