China, Monday (20/11), said it supports the “diplomatic efforts” of Arab and Islamic countries in resolving the Gaza conflict, while foreign ministers from four Arab countries and Indonesia visited Beijing for talks with their Chinese counterparts.
After a meeting with his counterparts, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said his country would work with “our brothers and sisters” in the Arab and Islamic world to try to end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible.
Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Indonesia chose Beijing as the first destination on a tour of world capitals, evidence of China’s growing geopolitical influence and long-term support for the Palestinians.
At a daily press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning highly praised the Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit held earlier this month. He said the foreign ministers would “further brief China on the summit, and the two sides will brainstorm on the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”
“The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views to ease tensions, protect civilians and resolve the Palestinian issue fairly,” Mao said. He added that further information regarding this will be released soon.
China has long supported the Palestinians and has been quick to condemn Israel over its settlements in the occupied territories. They did not criticize Hamas’ initial attack on October 7 – which killed around 1,200 people. Meanwhile America and other countries called it an act of terrorism. However, China does have growing economic ties with Israel. (ka/ab)
