China will do utmost to contribute to Palestinian-Israeli reconciliation: State media
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called the conflict a “major choice between war and peace”, the state media said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING – China will do its utmost when it comes to contributing to Palestinian-Israeli reconciliation, its Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Israeli counterpart in a phone call on Monday, according to Chinese state media.
China will firmly support any resolution as long as it is conducive to peace, Mr Wang told Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, calling the conflict a “major choice between war and peace”, the state media said on Tuesday.
Mr Wang also called for Israel to take effective measures to protect the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in the Middle East, adding that “all countries have the right to self-defence, but they should abide by international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians”.
China has condemned violence and attacks on civilians
In a separate phone conversation with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, Mr Wang said he “deeply sympathises” with the people of Gaza, adding that they need security and efforts to promote peace, not weapons or geopolitical calculations.
China calls for the convening of a “more authoritative, wide-ranging and effective international peace conference” soon, Mr Wang said.
Mr Wang’s comments come days before he visits Washington from Thursday to Saturday. He will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, senior Biden administration officials said on Monday, declining to say if he will meet Mr Biden as well.
The crisis has put China and Russia in separate camps from the United States over the conflict.
China and Russia share the same position that the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people have not been met.
The US has denounced the Hamas attack, fully supporting Israel’s right to defend itself.
China, which has repeatedly urged a ceasefire, also made clear that its warships in the Middle East were part of routine escort missions and friendly visits, and not an interference in the conflict, state-controlled Global Times said.
The newspaper said the spokesperson at the Chinese embassy in the United States has called for an end to the “groundless hyping” over the deployment of Chinese warships to the Middle East in response to reports about several warships stationed in the region. REUTERS
