Syria last year joined China's Belt and Road Initiative, a nearly $1 trillion soft power effort on the part of Beijing to expand its influence in developing countries through infrastructure projects. Beijing has long provided Damascus with diplomatic support, particularly at the UN Security Council where it is a permanent member. It has used its veto power eight times to block UN resolutions against Mr Al Assad's government, the latest being in July 2020 to veto a UN extension on cross-border aid into north-west Syria, where millions are reliant on international aid. Sanam Vakhil, director of the Middle East North Africa Programme at London's Chatham House, told The National that Mr Al Assad was aiming to show his broader rehabilitation beyond the Middle East region.
