Chinese President Xi Jinping offered today, Wednesday, that his country will work to find a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian issue, during a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, who is on a 4-day visit to China.
“China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Palestine to push for an early, comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue,” Xi said.
The Chinese president confirmed prior to his talks with Abbas that his country would build “strategic” relations with the Palestinians.
He said – during a reception in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing – that “China is ready to enhance coordination and cooperation with the Palestinian side in the face of a century of global changes and new developments of the situation in the Middle East.”
“Today, we will jointly announce the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Palestine, which will represent an important milestone in the history of bilateral relations,” he added.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced that the Chinese president held a “big welcome ceremony for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.”
“The Chinese president held talks with President Abbas, during which he affirmed that China and Palestine are good friends and good partners who trust and support each other,” she said on Twitter.
“China has always firmly supported the Palestinian people’s just cause of restoring their legitimate national rights,” she added.
Last Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin described Palestinian President Abbas as an “old and close friend” of the Chinese people.
It is noteworthy that Beijing has sought to strengthen its relations in the Middle East, challenging US influence in the region, in efforts that have worried Washington.
Last April, Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Gang informed his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts of his country’s readiness to assist in peace talks, in two separate calls.
Chen urged Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to take “steps to resume peace talks,” stressing that “China is ready to facilitate this,” according to Xinhua.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki also informed that Beijing supports the resumption of talks as soon as possible, stressing in the two calls China’s endeavor for peace talks on the basis of implementing the “two-state solution”.
China is one of the first countries to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine, as in November 1988 it established official diplomatic relations with Palestine, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. In May 1965, the PLO established an office that was treated as a diplomatic mission in Beijing.
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2023-06-14 14:35:17
