Israel-Gaza war: China will ‘do anything’ to restore peace, but ‘prospects are worrying’, envoy says

Envoy Zhai Jun says China is ‘deeply concerned’ about crisis as he continues Middle East visit
Zhai presses UN to take on larger mediation role while reiterating calls for a two-state solution, to break ‘vicious cycle’ of violence

China-Middle East relations

Dewey Sim

Published: 7:01pm, 23 Oct 2023

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China is ready to “do anything” conducive to promote dialogue and restore peace as the fighting in Israel and Gaza intensifies, its Middle East special envoy said, as he outlined plans to visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan on the next leg of his mediation trip.

Zhai Jun, who was in Egypt for a peace summit, said China would keep in “close communication” with the international community – including with Arab nations – to jointly push for a de-escalation and to avoid a serious humanitarian crisis.

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“We are willing to do anything that is conducive to promoting dialogue, achieving ceasefire, and restoring peace,” he told Chinese state media on Sunday on the sidelines of the Cairo Summit.

At the summit, Zhai urged the United Nations to hold a larger, more authoritative and more influential international conference for peace as soon as possible.

The Chinese envoy last week kicked off a Middle Eastern swing as part of diplomatic efforts aimed at cooling tensions in the region. Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, had earlier called for a ceasefire and urged restraint.

Zhai told Qatar’s state minister, Mohammed Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, last week that China condemned acts that harmed civilians, opposed moves that violated international law, and called on “all relevant parties to keep calm and exercise restraint”.

“Qatar has an important influence on the Palestinian issue, and China is ready to maintain communication and coordination with Qatar to play a constructive role in de-escalating the current tension,” he said, according to a Chinese readout.

On Sunday, Zhai told Chinese media that he spoke with his counterparts in Palestine, Israel and Egypt, among others. He said his visits with other regional leaders would improve coordination to help ease the situation.

Zhai said China was “deeply concerned” about the conflict spiralling, and described a “very serious” situation at risk of “increasing unprecedentedly” with a large-scale ground conflict.

“The spillover effects on the region and the international community are spreading and the prospects are worrying,” he said.

“The top priority is for the parties to the conflict to immediately cease fire and cease fighting, abide by international humanitarian law, ensure the safety of civilians, and create necessary conditions for cooling down the situation and providing humanitarian relief,” he said.

“Relevant parties in the international community should remain calm and restrained, uphold objectivity and impartiality, promote conflict de-escalation, open humanitarian relief channels as soon as possible, and avoid greater impact on regional and international security.”

Zhai reiterated calls for a “two-state solution”, saying it was the “only realistic way to break the vicious cycle of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”.

When Zhai met his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov in Qatar last week, he said the “fundamental reason for the current situation in the conflict is that the legitimate rights of the Palestinian nation have not been guaranteed”.

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Over 100 trucks at Egypt’s Rafah crossing wait to deliver aid into besieged Gaza Strip

“The fundamental reason why the Palestinian-Israeli situation has developed to this point is that the Palestinian people’s right to statehood has been shelved for a long time, their right to survival has been trampled on, and their right of return has been ignored for a long time,” he told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

“Only through a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue can lasting peace and universal security be truly achieved in the Middle East,” he said.

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During the interview, Zhai again urged the United Nations to play its “due role” and lead the mediation process, while repeating his calls for a “more authoritative, more influential and larger-scale” peace conference to be held.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had earlier this month called for an international peace conference to “reach consensus” on the conflict, during a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“China believes that force has never been the solution to problems, and using violence for violence will only lead to a vicious cycle of retaliation and create more obstacles to political settlement,” Zhai said.