On the Establishment of Strategic Partnership
Joint Declaration of the People's Republic of China and the Syrian Arab Republic
Chinese version HERE.
Translated by Discourse Power as released by the PRC Embassy in Syria text version.
At the invitation of President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China, President Bashar al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic came to China from September 21 to 26, 2023 to attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games.
The two heads of state met in a cordial and friendly atmosphere, exchanged in-depth views on China-Syria bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern, and reached a broad consensus.
The two heads of state praised China and Syria's traditional friendship and agreed that China and Syria share a relationship of trust and justice 信义之交, coming to each other's aid in times of need 患难之交.
They unanimously proclaimed that China and Syria should establish a strategic partnership and comprehensively promote friendship and cooperation in various fields for the bettermenu of the two peoples.
First, the two sides will continue to firmly support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and issues of great concern 重大关切问题. The Syrian side firmly adheres to the one-China principle. It recognizes that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. It supports China in safeguarding its national sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, and firmly opposes interference by any force in China's internal affairs.
It supports all efforts made by the Chinese Government to realize national reunification, China's position on Hong Kong-related issues, and its efforts to safeguard national security under the framework of "one country, two systems". It firmly believes that Hong Kong affairs are purely an internal affair of China, and strongly condemns the illegal acts of outside forces interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs.
Syria firmly supports China's position on Xinjiang, reaffirming that Xinjiang-related issues are not human rights issues, but rather counter-terrorism, de-radicalization, and anti-secession issues.
The Syrian side firmly supports China's counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts and resolutely opposes interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of Xinjiang-related issues.
China firmly supports Syria in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity. It supports the Syrian people in taking the path of development in line with its national conditions, supports the policies and initiatives adopted by the Syrian government aimed at safeguarding the country's security, stability, and development, and opposes interference in Syria's internal affairs by external forces.
China rejects undermining Syria's security and stability and opposes the unlawful military presence, illegal military operations, and illegal plundering 掠夺 of Syria's natural resources. It urges the countries concerned to immediately lift all illegal unilateral sanctions against Syria.
Second, the Syrian side highly values and actively supports the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two sides will actively cooperate in the implementation of these initiatives, join hands to promote the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and jointly promote the building of a Community with a Shared Destiny for Mankind.
Third, the two sides are eager to expand exchanges and cooperation between their respective political parties, including parliaments and local governments, and to strengthen mutual exchanges of governance experience. The two sides will strengthen friendship and cooperation in various fields such as economy and trade, agriculture, culture, youth, and data.
China will continue to provide assistance to the Syrian side to the best of its ability and support the Syrian side in reconstruction and development. The Syrian side is grateful to China for its political support and selfless help, and for speaking up for the Syrian side in the UN Security Council. The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen counter-terrorism security cooperation and make joint efforts to combat terrorism.
Fourth, China supports and welcomes Syria's return to the League of Arab States (LAS), supports Syria in improving its relations with other Arab countries, and supports the unity and self-improvement of Arab countries in the region, including Syria.
The Syrian side highly appreciates China's diplomatic efforts to promote the resumption of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran and is grateful for China's active contribution to promoting the resolution of hot-spot issues in the Middle East and the maintenance of peace and stability in the region.
Fifth, the two sides highly valued the important role played by the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) mechanism in promoting collective cooperation between China and the Arab countries. They emphasized that they would actively cooperate in promoting the implementation of the outcomes of the first China-Arab Summit, carry forward the spirit of Sino-Arab friendship, and join hands in building a China-Arab Community of Shared Destiny in the New Era.
Sixth, the two sides support the promotion of the shared values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom of all mankind. They respect the independent choice of peoples of all countries for their own paths of development and social systems suited to their national conditions and are firmly opposed to the politicization and instrumentalization of human rights, and to interference in the internal affairs of other countries on the pretext of democracy and human rights by any country.
The two sides will strengthen coordination and cooperation in regional and international affairs, jointly adhere to genuine multilateralism, defend the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
[China and Syria] resolutely oppose all forms of hegemony and power politics, including the imposition of unlawful unilateral sanctions and restrictive measures on other countries. In doing so, they promote the construction of a new type of international relations and join hands in the building of a Community with a Shared Destiny for Mankind.
Related Readings
Syria: a tale of plunder and resurrection