China will focus on Israel-Hamas ceasefire as UN Security Council president, its ambassador says

Ensuring humanitarian aid to Palestinians and advancing two-state solution also priorities as Beijing begins one-month term heading pivotal body
China ‘not that influential’ in Middle East, says Zhang Jun, as US urges it to use sway over Hamas supporters Iran and Russia

United Nations

Mark Magnierin New York

Published: 5:45am, 2 Nov 2023

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China will focus on helping effect a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, ensure humanitarian aid flows to Palestinians and push for a political settlement based on a two-state solution, Beijing’s top United Nations diplomat said as the country assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

The one-month term in the rotating presidency comes as the council faces growing pressure to bring an end to the Middle East crisis – or even agree on a unified stance – amid sharpening criticism that the body is partisan, costly and ineffective in an increasingly unstable world.

Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the UN, told reporters in a briefing on Wednesday that his country was “not that influential” in the region but would do its best.

“We want to stop the conflict, we want to see this ceasefire to be realised, we want to have less people to be killed, less casualties,” Zhang said. “And we do not have any private interest in that region … But we are on the side of peace and we are on the side of justice.”

Hamas, which governs the densely populated Gaza Strip and is listed as a terrorist organisation by Washington, attacked Israel on October 7, killing some 1,400 people, according to Israel. And at least 8,800 Gaza residents have been killed in Israeli counterstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Zhang on Wednesday staked out a Middle East position distinct from the US, which has repeatedly called on Beijing to use its influence to help prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from spreading, given its ties to Iran and Russia, which support Hamas.

“We know China has relationships with a number of countries in the region, and we would urge them to use those relationships, the lines of communications they have, to urge calm and stability,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a briefing last week.

Zhang said pressuring other regional players was not China’s immediate priority, adding that the best way to contain the conflict was a ceasefire. US President Joe Biden and Israel oppose an immediate end to the fighting until Hamas is permanently debilitated, although Biden called later on Wednesday for a “humanitarian pause” to help civilians trapped by the conflict.

“The most meaningful message at this moment, we believe, is a ceasefire,” the envoy said. “Only then we can tackle the other relevant things.”

Global outcry has risen over the mounting number of Palestinian civilians killed and blocked food and water shipments as Israel vows to achieve “victory” against Hamas despite “painful losses”.

Zhang, a former ambassador to the Netherlands, did not acknowledge Israeli losses or place blame on Hamas on Wednesday.

Beijing has been working to boost support among Middle East nations and the Global South. In March, China helped broker a deal to ease long-standing tensions between historical rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Qin Gang, China’s former foreign minister (centre), meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (left) and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud in Beijing in April. Photo: Xinhua

In his comments, the senior diplomat outlined several of China’s other priorities, including strengthening and reforming the role of peacekeeping forces.

This is an area of keen interest to Beijing, analysts say, as it allows for the burgeoning military power to expose its troops to more real-world conditions. Chinese forces have not “tasted blood” since a brief war with Vietnam in 1979.

Zhang also said China’s council presidency would focus on working with other member states on trouble spots Yemen, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Ukraine.

The diplomat’s remarks on Wednesday included references to some of Beijing’s nascent global security and development ambitions as well.

In recent months, Chinese President Xi Jinping has rolled out a “Global Security Initiative”, “Global Development Initiative” and “Global Civilisation Initiative”. Analysts have said the still ill-defined signature programmes are aimed at offering an alternative to what Beijing sees as failed Western-led governance.

“Together, the three global initiatives stem from the ideological edge of Xi’s efforts to roll back American global primacy,” the Atlantic Council said in a June report.

Critics – especially Republican lawmakers in the US, the UN’s largest donor – have frequently accused the international body of wasteful spending and failing to either act decisively when global conflict breaks or condemn egregious human rights violations.

“True reform at the UN is the only path forward for this dying organisation,” said James Risch, an Idaho Republican and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, in September.

UN supporters, including Zhang, counter that despite its flaws the Security Council remains an essential forum for collective action during times of crisis.

“You cannot talk about multilateralism without talking about the UN, and you do not have an effective multilateral system without an effective United Nations,” he said on Wednesday.

“The performance of the United Nations is not the one we expected to see, that’s also true,” Zhang added. “By starting from smaller steps, we can make the council do more meaningful things and be more united.”