Algerian Leader on State Visit to China to Pump up Economic Ties and Lock in Support to Join BRICS

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during a visit to Moscow in June 2023. (AFP)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during a visit to Moscow in June 2023. (AFP)
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Algerian Leader on State Visit to China to Pump up Economic Ties and Lock in Support to Join BRICS

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during a visit to Moscow in June 2023. (AFP)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during a visit to Moscow in June 2023. (AFP)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune began a state visit to China on Monday, with both economic and diplomatic priorities as the North African nation looks to become less gas-dependent and raise its global profile.

The visit follows Tebboune's trip last month to Russia, a long-time partner and military provider, although Algeria has remained officially neutral in Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Tebboune spent two days in Qatar before landing in Beijing on Monday. A large delegation accompanied Tebboune to China, reflecting a drive for deeper cooperation beyond the economy.

Tebboune is also looking for concrete support for Algerian membership in BRICS, an economic bloc that includes both China and Russia as well as Brazil, India and South Africa, which is hosting a summit next month. The collective was founded in 2009 when the member countries were seen as the potential engine for future global economic growth.

BRICS membership has become a diplomatic priority for Algeria with the upending of the global economy, notably due to the war in Ukraine. While in Russia in June, Tebboune offered to help mediate in the conflict.

Algeria's relationship with China reaches into history. Algeria’s official press service APS underscored China's role as the first non-Arab country to recognize Algeria’s provisional government in 1958, established midway through its brutal independence war with France.

Since 2014, Algeria and China are strategic partners and have pledged to expand their cooperation in the economy, trade, energy to space and health. China has had a hand in numerous projects in Algeria, from construction of a grand mosque in the capital to an array of infrastructure projects.

In recent years, China has become the top source of Algerian imports, ahead of traditional partners France and Italy.



Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
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Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters

Over two million Syrians who had fled their homes during their country's war have returned since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday, ahead of a visit to Syria.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, displaced half of the population internally or abroad.

But Assad's December 8 ouster at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

"Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December," Grandi wrote on X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official estimates, AFP reported.

It is "a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions," he said.

"This proves that we need political solutions -- not another wave of instability and displacement."

After 14 years of war, many returnees face the reality of finding their homes and property badly damaged or destroyed.

But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.

Earlier this month, UNHCR estimated that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced persons may return by the end of 2025.