Syrian President's visit to China fruitful: official

Syria said late Thursday that President Bashar Al-Assad's just-concluded visit to China was successful and fruitful, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

An official in the foreign ministry was quoted as saying that Bashar and the Chinese leadership discussed bilateral relations and international developments and the two sides agreed that achieving peace in the Middle East hinges on Israel's implementation of relevant international resolutions.

The two sides highlighted the importance of Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and the Lebanese territories to the 1967 borders, said the official.

They also agreed to pursue efforts within the UN Security Council to render the Middle East free of all weapons of mass destruction, the official added.

Meanwhile, the two countries signed a number of agreements in the higher education, scientific research, tourism, irrigation, water, agricultural, industrial and health domains during the president's visit, the official said.

Bashar returned home Thursday evening after concluding his China visit, during which he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

He arrived in Beijing Monday night for a four-day state visit to China, the first by a Syrian president since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1956.

Source: Xinhua