China says it’s willing to facilitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
- Foreign Minister Qin Gang tells Israeli and Palestinian counterparts in separate calls that the solution to the conflict is to resume negotiations
- It comes amid heightened tensions between the two sides in recent months, and as Beijing is seeking to position itself as a global mediator
In separate phone calls with his Israeli and Palestinian Authority counterparts on Monday, Qin aired China’s concerns over the deepening conflict between the two sides, saying the solution was to resume peace negotiations.
He told Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that Beijing encouraged both sides to “show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks” and that China was “willing to facilitate this”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry readout.
Qin said China had “no self-interest in this issue” and hoped that Israelis and Palestinians could “coexist peacefully and maintain regional peace and stability”.
It comes amid heightened tensions in recent months as Israeli forces stepped up military raids in the West Bank, leading to a jump in deaths and arrests. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since 2014.
Qin told Cohen the “top priority” was to control the situation and prevent it from escalating, and that the parties should remain calm and exercise restraint.
Similarly, the Chinese foreign minister told his Palestinian Authority counterpart Riyad al-Maliki that China was willing to play an “active role” in restarting peace talks in one of the world’s longest-running conflicts.
During their call, Maliki told Qin that he welcomed all efforts by China, and that Beijing had proved to be a “responsible major power” with the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal, according to the Chinese statement.
Qin said China had always supported the strategic autonomy of Middle Eastern countries and was willing to continue contributing to peace and stability in the region.
In their call, Cohen thanked Qin for China’s efforts in the conflict, but he said it seemed “difficult to resolve this issue in the short term”. “Israel attaches great importance to China’s influence, pays close attention to the Iranian nuclear issue, and expects China to play a positive role,” Cohen said.
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Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said Beijing had been “emboldened” to do more on the global stage after it brokered the Iran-Saudi Arabia pact.
“China now wants to offer an alternative global order, saying they unite people and countries,” he said. “It wants a bigger role in the international arena.”
But Wu said Beijing’s efforts could have limited success and that its bid to find solutions to Russia’s war in Ukraine had “achieved nothing so far”.
Qin’s offer to play mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could also be partly motivated by China’s desire to expand its influence in the Middle East.
Wu noted that Chinese diplomats and businesses were paying more attention to the region, with a growing list of economic deals there.
