Syrian first lady thanks China for standing by her country, preventing plans ‘still being hatched’
- During a visit to Beijing Foreign Studies University, Asma al-Assad lauds cultural links, praises China’s ‘amazing’ progress
- The presidential couple’s six-day trip to Hangzhou and Beijing finished on Wednesday
Syria’s first lady, Asma al-Assad, has thanked China for standing by her country during international forums to prevent “plans which were and are still being hatched against independent countries”.
Both countries were facing a threat to erase their national cultures “through multiple means … in the name of development and modernisation”, she said on Tuesday, according to a speech seen by the Post. She added the goal was to “destroy societies and erase identity”.
Assad made the remarks in Arabic during a meeting at the school of Arabic studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University. The gathering was attended by China’s ambassador to Syria, Shi Hongwei, as well as diplomats from Syria and the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement from the university.
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Assad praised China’s development for “the amazing scientific and technological progress achieved by the government and the people on the basis of the preservation of its unique cultures and languages”.
