20241211 Trump and Xi

The new reality in Syria and Donald Trump's impending return to the White House are weighing on Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images)

Analysis: Bashar Assad's fall reminds Xi Jinping of a Donald Trump bombshell

China's president was with Trump in Florida in 2017 when U.S. missiles struck Syria

Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.

During a visit to China in September 2023, Bashar Assad agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping that their countries would upgrade bilateral relations to a "strategic partnership." Because of the pact, bilateral cooperation, especially in the economic sphere, is now just beginning to take off.

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