ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - China and Syria on Monday pledged to deepen their strategic partnership, expanding security cooperation to “counter terrorism,” according to a joint statement issued by their foreign ministries. The announcement comes amid reports that Damascus has agreed to hand over jihadist fighters from China’s Uyghur minority - who fought against the regime of toppled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad - to Beijing.
The statement, published on the Syrian foreign ministry’s X account, came against the backdrop of Damascus's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani’s visit to Beijing, where he met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Shaibani and Wang Yi “held constructive bilateral discussions,” exchanging views on relations and issues of mutual interest, and underscored “mutual respect, consideration of each side’s interests, and non-interference in internal affairs,” the statement said.
They further “agreed to strengthen coordination and cooperation in counter-terrorism and security.” The foreign ministry statement noted Shaibani’s assurance that Syria “will not be a source of threat to China” and will prevent any actor from using its territory to undermine China’s “security, sovereignty, and interests.”
For his part, Wang Yi reiterated China’s “full respect for Syria’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity,” recognizing the Syrian government as “the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people” and affirming Beijing’s support for the Syrian political process.
He also praised Damascus for its “ongoing efforts to eliminate drugs, strengthen the rule of law, combat terrorism, and protect the rights of all Syrians without discrimination.”
The crux
A key topic of discussion between the Syrian and Chinese foreign ministers was the fate of Uyghur combatants in Syria.
Following a swift offensive in early December, a coalition of opposition forces led by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - then headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa - ousted Assad. In late January, Sharaa was appointed Syria’s interim president.
One of the most pressing issues that has kept the international community - including China - on edge since Assad’s fall is the presence of thousands of battle-hardened foreign fighters in Syria.
For Beijing, the central concern is the Uyghur militants, whose status has become a source of friction with the new leadership in Damascus, particularly after many were reportedly integrated into Syria’s emerging military structure.
The fighters hail largely from the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), designated by Beijing as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and listed as a terrorist organization. TIP militants were a key component of the anti-Assad campaign, operating mainly out of Idlib province in northern Syria and maintaining a close alliance with HTS.
Following the collapse of Assad’s regime, the Syrian branch of the TIP - along with other former opposition factions - was dissolved, and its members absorbed into the new defense ministry.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) suggests that 3,500 to 4,000 Uyghur fighters were integrated into the newly created 84th Division of the Syrian Army - a unit composed largely of foreign fighters. Other estimates place the total Uyghur population in Syria, including families, as high as 15,000.
In early November, China abstained from a UN Security Council vote on a resolution to lift sanctions on Sharaa. Beijing’s Ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, cited “legitimate concerns about counterterrorism issues - in particular foreign terrorist fighters in Syria.”
Bridging ties
Since taking charge, Syria’s interim President Sharaa has sought to rebuild diplomatic relations to end the country’s international isolation, and economic ties to advance Syria's post-war recovery and reconstruction.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday cited a Syrian government source saying the issue of Uyghur fighters was expected to feature in Shaibani’s talks in Beijing. “Based on China’s request, Damascus intends to hand over the fighters in batches,” the source said.
Another diplomatic source in Syria told AFP that “Syria intends to hand over 400 Uyghur fighters to China in the coming period.”
For its part, the Chinese foreign ministry, in a statement Monday, reiterated that “the Syrian side has pledged not to allow any entity to use Syrian territory to harm China’s interests.”
“China expressed its appreciation and hopes that Syria will take effective measures to implement this commitment, thereby removing security obstacles to the stable development of China-Syria relations,” the statement added.