On September 22, seizing the opportunity provided by the visit of Bashar al-Assad to Hangzhou for the 19th Asian Games, China and Syria announced the establishment of a strategic partnership. The joint declaration contains statements of mutual support regarding all the issues that are dear to both countries. These range from Damascus’ backing of Chinese policies in Hong Kong and Xinjiang...

Over the past two weeks, the Italian and Chinese press have extensively covered Sino-Italian relations, centered around the very likely possibility that Italy will not renew its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China on cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), thereby withdrawing from the China-led global geo-economic strategy. This increased attention can...