Xi pledges deeper China ties with Arab states, pushes 2-state solution for Gaza peace

Middle East has ‘broad prospects for development’ and war cannot continue indefinitely, the Chinese leader said, as Beijing courts region long dominated by the US

Leaders from Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia and the UAE are in Beijing for the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, where security and trade deals are expected to be high on the agenda

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China’s President Xi Jinping appears for a group photo with Arab leaders at the 10th ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing on Thursday. China is seeking to strengthen relations with Arab states as a model for maintaining world peace and stability, Xi was quoted as saying by state media at the gathering. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:00pm, 30 May 2024Updated: 3:01pm, 30 May 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Arab leaders that the war in the Middle East “cannot continue indefinitely”, while pledging deeper ties with Arab states amid a push by Beijing to court a region where Washington has long been a dominant power.

“The Middle East is a land bestowed with broad prospects for development but the war is still raging,” he said on Thursday, as he opened the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum ministerial conference in Beijing.

“The war cannot continue indefinitely, justice cannot be permanently absent, and the two-state solution cannot be shaken arbitrarily,” Xi said, in line with Beijing’s long-standing call for the framework that envisages coexisting Israeli and Palestinian states.

According to Chinese state media, Xi reiterated China’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and called for a “more authoritative and more effective” peace conference on the Israel-Gaza war.

In his keynote address, the Chinese leader also said China was willing to work with Arab countries to deepen cooperation in fields ranging from oil and gas to trade and investment, as well as forge new areas of growth such as in artificial intelligence.

“China will further strengthen strategic cooperation with the Arab side in oil and gas and integrate supply security with market security,” he said, adding that China was ready to accelerate bilateral and regional free-trade agreements.