"Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has pledged to deepen collaboration on counterterrorism with China on his first visit to Beijing since the toppling of former President Bashar al-Assad last year. Al-Shaibani and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed on Monday that they would work together on combating terrorism and on security matters, with the top Syrian diplomat promising that Damascus would not allow its territory to be used for any actions against Chinese interests, according to Syrian state news agency SANA."
"China, a former backer of al-Assad, said that it hoped Syria would take effective measures to fulfil its commitment, thereby removing security obstacles to the stable development of China-Syria relations, according to a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. The fate of the Uighur fighters who had gone to Syria after war erupted in 2011 to fight al-Assad's forces, with many joining the Uighur-dominated Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) based in Idlib province, was expected to be on al-Shaibani's agenda in Beijing."
"A source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in Damascus denied a report by news agency AFP that cited unidentified sources as saying the Syrian government planned to hand over 400 fighters who had fled persecution in China in batches. The report regarding the Syrian government's intention to hand over fighters to China is without foundation, said the source in a brief statement to SANA. During the meeting in Beijing, al-Shaibani also gave his country's support for the one China principle, establishing formal diplomatic ties with the Chinese government, rather than with Taiwan, as the sole legal representative of the territory. Wang, for his part, stated that China viewed the Golan Heights as Syrian territory."
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani visited Beijing and pledged to deepen counterterrorism collaboration and security cooperation with China. Damascus promised not to allow Syrian territory to be used for actions against Chinese interests. China urged Syria to take effective measures to honour that commitment to remove security obstacles to bilateral ties. The fate of Uighur fighters who joined the Turkistan Islamic Party in Idlib was expected on the agenda. Damascus denied reports of plans to hand over hundreds of fighters to China. Syria expressed support for the one China principle, while China affirmed the Golan Heights as Syrian territory.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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