IntelBrief: Assad Attempts to Cozy Up to China, Seeks Help Rebuilding Syria

Bottom Line Up Front

• Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited China last week, his first trip to the country in nearly two decades, as he continues his normalization tour, meeting heads of state and attempting to reintegrate himself and Syria into the international community.
• China continues to court Middle Eastern countries in an effort to grow its influence in the region, looking to build on the momentum of recent diplomatic successes, particularly during a time when U.S. commitment to the region is being questioned.
• The Syrian economy is in shambles, the regime remains heavily sanctioned, and Assad and his cronies have turned the country into a narco-state, facilitating the production and manufacture of Captagon, a wildly popular amphetamine that generated nearly $6 billion in revenue for the Syrian regime in 2021.
• Through several of its state-owned energy firms, China has invested billions of dollars over the years into oil and gas assets in Syria, where Chinese firms hope to return once they deem the security and financial situation to be stable enough.