China to provide “aid and training” to Syrian military

The Chinese military is moving in to provide “aid and training” to Syria’s pro-Assad forces, creating an associative alliance with the war-torn nation and praising Russia for their role in the region.

According to Reuters, Chinese military delegate Rear Admiral Guan Youfei of the Central Military Commission recently met Syrian Minister of Defence Fahd Jassem al-Freij during a visit to Damascus.

“They reached consensus on enhancing personnel training, and Chinese military offering humanitarian aid to Syria,” reported Xinhua, China’s official government press agency.

“China and Syria’s militaries have a traditionally friendly relationship, and China’s military is willing to keep strengthening exchanges and cooperation with Syria’s military,” Xinhua paraphrased on behalf of Guan.

In addition, Guan also met with a Russian general during his visit to the Syrian capital.

While China has shown little prior interest in getting militarily involved in the Syrian conflict, the Chinese special envoy that visited in April praised the Russians for their military efforts in the war, particularly their brutal air campaign.

One of China’s current major concerns involves the Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim people in China’s western Xinjiang region that have been travelling illegally to join militant fighters in Iraq and Syria.
China has been muscling into the Middle East and Africa in recent years, establishing military and infrastructure assets in the two regions to satiate the industry-heavy nation’s need for natural resources.