Syrian President Bashar Assad arrives in China on first visit since the beginning of war in Syria

FILE - Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, waves to his supporters at a polling station during the Presidential elections in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, May 26, 2021. President Bashar Assad will head to China later this week in his first visit to Beijing since the country's conflict started 12 years during which China was one of his main backers, his office said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)