Syrian president Bashar al-Assad arrived in China on Thursday for a bilateral summit in his first visit since a civil war erupted in his country 12 years ago. Assad’s trip comes as Beijing is seeking to increase its diplomatic influence in the Middle East and as Damascus is being tentatively welcomed back into the fold by regional powers that once backed the Syrian opposition.

His regime has regained control of about two-thirds of the country with the military backing of Russia and Iran, but Assad is still treated as a pariah in the west and he rarely travels abroad.

There has long been speculation that Syria would seek Beijing’s support for the multibillion-dollar task of reconstructing the war-devastated country. The topic is expected to be raised when Assad meets Chinese president Xi Jinping.