ExplainerWhat would China do to solve Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how do its ties with the two sides compare?
- Beijing seen as long-time supporter of Palestinians, but its trade with Israel has expanded rapidly over past two decades
- Fresh off brokering Iran-Saudi Arabia deal, China says it is ready to facilitate peace talks, but some wonder whether it can play neutral moderator
So how do Beijing’s relationships with the two sides compare? How has it proposed to resolve the decades-long conflict, and what could foreseeably hamper those efforts?
What is China’s relationship with the Palestinians?
Beijing has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinians since as far back as the founding of the People’s Republic of China – before either had any form of recognition by the United Nations.
China was one of the first countries to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state in 1988, and Abbas’ predecessor, Yasser Arafat, visited the country on 14 state visits between 1964 and his death in 2004.
Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin described the 87-year-old Abbas, who is marking his fifth official visit to Beijing since he became president of the Palestinian Authority in 2005, as an “old and good friend of the Chinese people” at a press conference last week.
During their meeting on Wednesday, Xi reportedly told Abbas that “China and Palestine are good friends and good partners who trust and support each other”.
“China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Palestine to promote an early, comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestine issue,” Xi said.
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China has remained an ardent supporter of Palestine at the UN. Over the years it has supported and co-sponsored resolutions calling for Palestinian statehood and denouncing Israel – as well as supporting Palestine’s elevation to “non-state observer status” in 2011.
“China has historically shown sympathy towards the Palestinians, at least publicly,” said Guy Burton, an adjunct professor at Brussels School of Governance who specialises in the Middle East.
“However, in practice, China’s focus is more on its relations with Israel due to economic and commercial interests.”
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How about Israel?
Bilateral relations hit a crescendo in 2017 when the two sides established the China-Israel innovative comprehensive partnership, with promises to expand cooperation in a myriad of fields including science, technology, agriculture, clean energy and finance.
But some aspects of their ties have come under scrutiny recently because of the growing US-China rivalry, observers said.
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“Israel is a close partner of the US, so it has been pressured by US officials to curb its relation with China,” said Tuvia Gering, a researcher with the Diane and Guilford Glazer Israel-China Policy Centre at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv.
Gering added that despite US pressure to rein in Chinese investment and infrastructure projects, officially Israel is still trying to maintain cordial relations with Beijing.
But while economic relations have blossomed, the two sides are less than cordial on the world stage.
Since 2021, Israel has joined the United States and other countries at the United Nations Human Rights Council in denouncing China’s alleged abuses in Xinjiang.
And China has long been a vocal critic of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians at the UN, often singling out Israel as the instigator of the conflict.
And while China called for a cessation of military activity targeting civilians “on all sides” after outbreaks of violence in January, Geng called on “Israel in particular” to stop violence from “spiralling out of control”.
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What is China’s proposed solution?
China has long been a public proponent of the “two-state solution” – a framework also supported by the United States – which would see the creation of the independent state of Palestine to exist alongside the state of Israel.
Last month, to mark the 75th anniversary of “the Nakba” – the mass displacement of Palestinians following the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 – Qin said the “fundamental way out” of the conflict was through the two-state solution.
Over the years, Beijing has promoted a number of multi-point peace plans. The latest, which was unveiled on Wednesday, calls for an independent Palestine – based on the 1967 borders – with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Beijing’s plan also calls for increased development and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, and the convening of a large-scale international conference to resume peace talks.
Since 2013, China has tried to facilitate peace talks on multiple occasions, but with little success. The most concrete action was in 2017, when Beijing hosted a peace symposium between Palestine and Israel, although the result was a non-binding declaration.
But while many observers have previously doubted China’s commitment to negotiating a peace settlement between the two sides, its role in brokering a recent deal to restore diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran has led some to reconsider.
“All of a sudden no one’s laughing any more,” Gering said. “People are taking Beijing more seriously.”
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What are the possible stumbling blocks?
Despite China’s recent success, doubts persist as to whether a negotiated two-state solution is possible under current conditions.
There has been growing disillusionment owing to the failure of previous large-scale negotiations – such as the Oslo Accords of the 1990s and the 2000 Camp David Summit – to bring lasting peace between both sides.
Support for a two-state solution has fallen to just 33 per cent and 34 per cent between Palestinians and non-Arab Israelis respectively, according to The Palestine/Israel Pulse survey released earlier this year.
Renewed hostilities, a dysfunctional and fractured Palestinian government, increased Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and a hard-right government in Tel Aviv have also dampened sentiment towards negotiations in the near-term as well.
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And then there is Israel’s reluctance to allow China to act as a mediator because of Beijing’s perceived pro-Palestinian bias.
“Israel doesn’t actually consider China to be a balanced or serious mediator,” Gering said. “It inhibits Israel’s desire to engage with China on this issue.”
According to Gering, China’s criticism of Israel at the UN and its reluctance to denounce Palestinian violence have all contributed to the perception that China is just “looking for a seat at the table”.
Gering added that if China was serious about negotiating a settlement, it would have to start taking Israel’s security concerns seriously.
