When Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Russia in early June, he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin signed joint statements addressing everything from protecting giant pandas to partnering in e-commerce.

During the state visit, they also discussed providing assistance for Syria’s recovery, something they have both been investigating for some time. Beijing has employed a “haste makes waste” approach, feeling comfortable taking one step at a time.

But shortly after their meeting, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem visited China with a view toward paving the way for more active participation by Beijing in Syria’s economic reconstruction, which is currently expected to cost $350 billion. Muallem’s trip also sought to promote Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s “Look East” — or away from the West — foreign policy strategy that calls for closer engagement with major Asian powers.

Since 2018, the Mediterranean port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon — which is just 32 miles (51 kilometers) south of Syria’s port of Tartus — has been emerging as a central destination for regular shipments from China to the Levant. Along with Tartus and Syria’s port of Latakia, which is 69 miles (111 kilometers) north, Tripoli constitutes an important logistical gate to Syria, Jordan and even to western Iraq through the Homs corridor and other Syrian land routes.