Syria, a country ravaged by war and economic sanctions, began reconstruction in 2019, a year when the situation on the Syrian battlefield generally stabilized. The Syrian opposition forces were confined to Idlib Province and surrounding areas in northern Syria, unable to shake the control of the Syrian government forces. Over the past two years, the Syrian government has held various exhibitions and fairs of different scales to attract foreign investors and restart the Syrian economy. What are the Syrian government's reconstruction policies and progress?

Government takes multiple measures to restart the economy

According to reports on the official Syrian website, since last year, the Syrian government has introduced a series of adjustment and reform measures, focusing on developing the economy, improving people's livelihoods, and increasing economic and trade cooperation with neighboring countries. Recently, senior Syrian government officials have frequently exchanged visits and interactions with ministerial-level delegations from Russia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, the UAE, Jordan, Oman, and other countries to discuss cooperation in energy, transportation, electricity, agriculture, industrial parks, and other areas.

Government investment in housing security projects. On January 31, 2021, the Syrian government issued Law No. 1 of 2021, stipulating an annual provision of 5 billion Syrian pounds in loans for the housing construction sector to build affordable housing.

Guaranteeing enterprise needs and encouraging local industrial development. On February 20, 2021, the Syrian government issued Law No. 8 of 2021, approving the establishment of microfinance banks to encourage citizens to start businesses and provide low-interest preferential loans to local enterprises with cash flow difficulties, promoting local industrial development. Due to years of war, a large number of skilled workers have been lost in Syria. The Syrian government has introduced policies to encourage and call on Syrian refugees abroad to return home and participate in post-war reconstruction.

Encouraging exports, restricting foreign exchange outflows, and stabilizing the Syrian pound exchange rate. The Syrian government will hold multiple exhibitions in October 2021, including the Syria Reconstruction Exhibition and the Damascus International Fair, to encourage local enterprises to export and earn foreign exchange. At the same time, relevant regulations have been issued to strictly control black market foreign exchange transactions, restrict the import of mobile phones, cars, and other products and spare parts, and reduce foreign exchange expenditures.

Regulating the domestic market, cracking down on speculation, and ensuring the supply of basic living materials. On April 12, the Syrian government promulgated the Consumer Protection Law, establishing market behavior regulations, strictly supervising pricing and product quality, and imposing stricter penalties for monopolies and hoarding.

Improving the business environment and attracting domestic and foreign funds to participate in post-war reconstruction. On May 19, the Syrian President issued Decree No. 18 of 2021, the new Investment Law, which introduced new incentive measures to improve investment facilitation, increase policy incentives, and protect investment rights and interests.

Due to prolonged war, infrastructure has suffered severe damage. In particular, in 2020, the US and Western countries increased economic sanctions on Syria, causing energy and food shortages, sharp price increases, and significant depreciation of the local currency. The above policy measures of the Syrian government have achieved certain effects in stabilizing the economy and society, but the long-term outlook remains difficult to predict.

Chinese enterprises participate in Syria's post-war reconstruction

At present, Syria has not yet achieved comprehensive and lasting peace. Military conflicts and terrorist bombings occur frequently in Idlib, Aleppo, Daraa, and other places, and personal safety cannot be guaranteed. At the same time, the US and Europe maintain unilateral economic sanctions on Syria, causing foreign enterprises to face difficulties in financing and insurance, blocked fund transfer channels, significant depreciation of the local currency, shipping difficulties, and the risk of being blacklisted. Chinese enterprises still face many practical difficulties in participating in reconstruction on a large scale unilaterally. Despite many difficulties, China and Syria have long been friendly, and the two sides understand and firmly support each other in bilateral and multilateral fields. They have become important reliance and reliable resources for international cooperation and development. Syria's reconstruction contains potential infrastructure projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars. To actively and steadily promote Chinese enterprises' participation in investment in Syria's reconstruction, the author puts forward the following suggestions.

First, fully leverage the traditional friendship between the Chinese and Syrian people and the friendly relations between the two governments, use small and medium-sized projects as pilots, and focus on areas where Syria has urgent needs in reconstruction. Encourage small and medium-sized private enterprises to start with projects that are "small, fast, require fewer personnel, and have low security risks," such as trade supply, technical repair and installation, and project operation and management, focusing on areas with urgent reconstruction needs such as livelihood, traditional and new energy, and construction.

Second, do research and preparation work, flexibly use fund transfer channels, and avoid sanction risks. Currently, fund transfer channels in Syria are blocked, causing great inconvenience for Chinese enterprises operating locally. It is recommended that enterprises conduct relevant research before investing and operating in Syria and flexibly use fund transfer channels to avoid risks. 2021 is an election year in Syria. To stimulate the economy and improve people's livelihoods, the Syrian government has introduced multiple policies to stimulate the economy, protect livelihoods, and attract foreign investment. However, considering that the Syrian government's administrative methods differ from those in China, Chinese enterprises can conduct research on such policies and prudently carry out large-scale investment cooperation projects in Syria.

Third, study the use of tripartite or quadrilateral economic and trade cooperation, fully leverage the comparative advantages of Chinese enterprises in automobile and home appliance assembly, new energy equipment supply, building materials and rapid housing construction, and food production and supply, activate existing project intentions, achieve complementary advantages, break the unilateral sanctions blockade, and effectively promote the integration of Syria's post-war reconstruction and the "Belt and Road" construction.