Syria and China Sign MoU to Shift Economic Ties Toward Manufacturing Partnership

MoU Signed on the Sidelines of Nastex 2026

Syria's Federation of Chambers of Commerce, represented by its Foreign Relations Committee, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Syrian-Chinese Business Council during the Nastex 2026 International Textile Exhibition held at the New Damascus Fairgrounds. The agreement is intended to deepen trade and investment cooperation between the two countries and signals, according to officials involved, a qualitative shift in the nature of Syrian-Chinese economic relations.

From Buyer-Seller to Manufacturing Partners

Louay al-Ashqar, a board member of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce, described the MoU as a genuine declaration of intent to transform the relationship with China from a conventional buyer-seller arrangement into a comprehensive manufacturing partnership. Speaking to the newspaper Al-Watan, he said that importing machinery, production lines, and spare parts from China at competitive prices would significantly reduce domestic production costs, giving the "Made in Syria" label a renewed chance to compete in regional and international markets.

Scope of Cooperation Under the Agreement

The MoU outlines several areas of collaboration, including:

• Expanding cooperation in trade and investment.
• Organizing regular bilateral conferences and forums.
• Exchanging economic data and market information.
• Supporting partnership opportunities in priority sectors.
• Cooperating on training, technology transfer, and sectoral studies.

Access to the Chinese Market

Al-Ashqar noted that the Chinese market, with a population of 1.4 billion, has largely remained closed to Syrian products. Through the bilateral forums stipulated in the MoU, Syrian textiles, food products, and chemical industries could gain a foothold in this vast market.

Benchmarks for Success

Al-Ashqar stressed that the MoU's success should not be measured by the number of its clauses but by the delivery of concrete measures, chiefly: genuine banking facilities, customs exemptions on imported machinery, and the establishment of a permanent Chinese Business Council office in Damascus. Should these conditions be met, he said, it would be possible within a single year to see joint factories operating and Syrian traders sourcing Chinese machinery in place of European alternatives, marking a genuine transition from import-export to a manufacturing and development partnership.