US Threats Won’t Prevent China from Taking Part in Damascus International Fair: Ambassador
DAMASCUS, (ST)- US threats to sanction the companies and businessmen who will participate in Damascus International Fair won’t prevent China from taking part in this year’s fair, China’s Ambassador to Syria Feng Biao has stressed, encouraging the Chinese economic facilities to come to Damascus to affirm the deep friendship between the peoples of China and Syria.
In a statement to SANA, Biao said that Damascus International Fair is the Syrian economy’s window to the world to achieve economic development in the country, adding that 58 Chinese companies will take part in the activities of the fair, which is a wider participation than previous years.
According to Biao, the participating companies specialize in producing reconstruction equipments and materials, office and solar energy equipments, electric devices, medicine manufacturing equipments, high-tech products and in car assembling and manufacturing.
He affirmed his country’s keenness on enhancing cooperation with Syria within the framework of the Road and Belt initiative. He said that since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, China has provided different forms of assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Syrians. He pointed out that this assistance is estimated at 800 million Yuan and it includes food aid, electric equipments and busses.
He confirmed China’s participation in Syria’s reconstruction process, noting that China has provided training to some 1000 Syrian trainees within the framework of its qualification programs aiming to prepare experts in the reconstruction field.
Biao went on to say that trade exchange between Syria and China in 2018 reached nearly $1,27 billion that equals half of the trade exchange before the crisis in Syria.
China exports electric equipments and light industrial products to Syria while it imports agricultural products from Syria, he pointed out.
China to Donate a New Batch of Buses to Syria
To confirm Beijing’s firm support for Syria, Biao announced on Tuesday that his country will donate a new batch of buses to Syria aiming to support the country’s transportation sector and alleviate the losses inflicted upon this vital sector because of terrorism in the country.
The announcement came during Biao’s meeting with Director General of the Public Transportation Company Samer Haddad.
Haddad briefed the Chinese ambassador on the Syrian provinces’ needs of buses and called for more Chinese support for Syria in this domain.
He explained the huge damage caused to the Syrian transportation sector during the crisis, stressing that the buses China has recently granted to Syria have positively reflected on the country’s transportation situation and on citizens.
Hamda Mustafa