Israel-Gaza war: China’s top diplomat to make 1 more UN Security Council peace push

Top diplomat Wang Yi will chair a council meeting in the final days of the country’s rotating presidency
It could be a chance for Beijing to expand on its position in the conflict but there are doubts it will have an impact on the ground, observers say

China-Middle East relations

Kawala Xie

Published: 7:17pm, 28 Nov 2023

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China could push for an extended truce in the Israel-Gaza conflict when Beijing’s top diplomat chairs a United Nations Security Council meeting this week, according to analysts.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will head to New York to host a meeting on the war on Wednesday, as Beijing gives a last push to its peacemaking efforts before its monthly presidency ends the next day.

Beijing has described the meeting as “high level” but it is not clear who else will be attending.

Earlier this month, Beijing was the first permanent member of the council to host an Arab and Islamic delegation trying to rally the international community to help resolve the conflict.

As holder of the council’s rotating presidency, China also oversaw the adoption of a resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting.

But it could not bridge division among members over common language on a ceasefire and condemnation of Hamas.

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The United States vetoed several council resolutions because Hamas was not censured and Israel’s right to self-defence not upheld.

China has long supported Palestinian sovereignty and says a “two-state” solution is the only way to end the conflict, which erupted on October 7.

It has not condemned Hamas, prompting criticism from the West.

Victor Gao, a Middle East affairs specialist and vice-president of the Beijing-based Centre for China and Globalisation, said Wang was expected to give a full explanation of China’s position on Wednesday, making the case that Beijing was siding with “justice”.

Gao said Beijing’s desire to play a positive role in ending the conflict was reflected in the “rare” decision to have the country’s top diplomat chair the council meeting.

“I think [Wang’s trip] will have a positive impact – whether it will potentially lead to a ceasefire or a truce extension … or to have a positive impact in reducing the killings,” he said.

Wang’s trip coincides with an agreement between Israel and Hamas to extend the four-day Qatar-brokered truce for two more days past its Tuesday deadline, enabling more hostage exchanges and humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip.

James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow specialising in Middle East studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, questioned Beijing’s capacity to bring about any peace progress, given it was “not the decisive player” on the ground.

“Whatever the UN Security Council may or may not come up with, I don’t think it’s going to make a big difference on the ground unless the Americans vote in favour of it,” he said.

Dorsey said that with persistent divisions within the council, the meeting on Wednesday would be a “motion without movement”, adding: “[China is] going through the motions because they want to be seen as trying. And they probably know that they’re not going to have a lot of impact.”

Yin Gang, a Middle Eastern affairs specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of West Asian and African Studies, agreed that neither China nor the UN had much influence on the ground.

“I think [Wang’s trip] will be an opportunity to elaborate more on China’s position,” he said. “[But] Whether there will be a truce extension or resumption of fighting is not decided at the United Nations … It will be decided in Qatar and Cairo.”

Additional reporting by Hayley Wong