China Mall, a store specializing in goods from China in Bab Tourna district, looks like other stores in Damascus, except for its Chinese slogan "Sheng Yi Xing Long" which means "good business."

However, this store, along with the increasing stores selling "Made in China" products in Damascus, indicates a flourishing business of Chinese goods in Syria.

"We import everything from China depending on seasons," said Miassar Brkaoui, the store's manager, adding "there were huge demands in Syria for Chines products of good value, good quality."

Brkaoui and his partner set up the company in 2006 with a modest budget. After a slow start, the business took off and it has brought 500,000 U.S. dollars profit since the beginning of this year.

"There has been a real change in the market in the last few years," Brkaoui said, "when we started, it was more unusual and difficult for Syrians to sell Chinese goods, but now everyone is doing this. Today, Chinese goods are number one here."

"Our goods have high quality and low price," said Omar al-Hossaini, manager of another Chinese goods store, adding "our firm has another four stores in Damascus, and we are looking forward to expanding our business to other parts of the country."

"Chinese goods are the most competitive products in the market. Chinese products not only mean low price, but also the good value," al-Hossaini added.

"Trade between Syria and China has not reached really big numbers yet, but we are just at the beginning," said Safi Shuga'a, executive director at the Syrian Economic Center (SEC), "Syria has been depending quite heavily on European goods but now Chinese goods are becoming more and more competitive."

Syria and China have established diplomatic ties in 1956. Since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's visit to Beijing in 2004, bilateral economic relationship has blossomed and trade has grown sharply.

"There are close political and strategic ties between Damascus and Beijing and the two economies have been moving in similar directions," Shuga'a said.

"The balance of power shifts through time," he said. "It used to be Britain, now we have the United States, perhaps soon China will be the key power so it's good for Syria to have strong ties with China."

From being a relatively small-scale exporter to Syria, China is now one of the largest exporting countries to Syria.

The bilateral trade volume has increased rapidly in recent years, which reached 2.27 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, and a large number of Chinese companies have successfully expanded their business in Syria.