(UPDATE) HANGZHOU, China: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday began his first official trip to China in almost two decades, with Beijing saying the visit would take their ties to a 'new level' as the Arab leader seeks financial support to help rebuild his devastated country.

China is one of only a handful of countries outside the Middle East that Assad has visited since the 2011 start of a civil war that has killed more than half a million people, displaced millions more, and battered Syria's infrastructure and industry.