The world must \u201cmust act urgently\u201d to stem the conflict in Gaza, China\u2019s top diplomat said\u00a0Monday during a meeting with officials from Arab and Muslim majority nations, as Beijing steps up its efforts to play a role in establishing ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. <\/p>\n
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian National Authority, and Indonesia, as well as the head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for a two-day visit to the Chinese capital, the start of the delegation\u2019s expected tour of several world capitals. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe international community must act urgently, taking effective measures to prevent this tragedy from spreading. China firmly stands with justice and fairness in this conflict,\u201d Wang told the visiting leaders in opening remarks ahead of talks, where he reiterated China\u2019s call for an immediate ceasefire. <\/p>\n
Visiting ministers voiced their own strong calls for an end to the conflict, with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud saying: \u201cThe message is clear: the war must stop immediately, we must move to a ceasefire immediately, and relief materials and aid must enter immediately.\u201d <\/p>\n
Countries represented in the delegation hoped to cooperate with China and \u201call countries\u201d that are \u201cresponsible and appreciate the seriousness of the situation,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Israel has launched weeks of bombardment and ground operations in the Hamas-ruled enclave of Gaza following a deadly attack on its territory by the group on October 7. More than 200 hostages were taken in that attack, according to the Israel Defense Forces. <\/p>\n
Beijing has been at odds with Washington \u2013 an Israeli ally and long a major power broker in the region \u2013 over their approach to the conflict, including when it comes to an immediate ceasefire, which Washington does not support. Beijing has also criticized Israel\u2019s retaliation and failed to condemn Hamas or name the group in its statements, sparking backlash from Israeli officials. <\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael should stop its collective punishment on the people of Gaza, and open up a humanitarian corridor as soon as possible to prevent a humanitarian crisis of a larger scale from taking place,\u201d Wang was cited as telling the delegation during the talks, according to a readout from China\u2019s Foreign Ministry. <\/p>\n
Israel has staunchly defended its actions as rooting out terrorism following a \u201cbarbaric invasion\u201d and has rejected any ceasefire without the return of hostages. <\/strong> <\/p>\n China has been attempting to play an active role in finding a solution to the conflict as it seeks to expand its position as a major global power. <\/p>\n Beijing dispatched a peace envoy for a multi-country tour of the region last month and has acted as a strong voice pushing for an immediate ceasefire at the United Nations, including the Security Council, where China now holds the rotating presidency. <\/p>\n Last week the UN body passed its first resolution on the conflict, which called for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas and for extended humanitarian corridors throughout the enclave to protect civilians. The US and the United Kingdom abstained, citing the resolution\u2019s failure to condemn Hamas. <\/p>\n \u201cFor reasons known to all, in particular, the repeated and persistent obstruction of a permanent member of the Council, this resolution at present can only serve as a first step based on minimum consensus,\u201d Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said following the vote, in an apparent veiled jab at the US.\u00a0 <\/p>\n In his comments Monday in Beijing, Saudi Arabia\u2019s minister commended the Security Council\u2019s decision, under China\u2019s leadership. <\/p>\n The conflict has also given China an opportunity to bolster its already strengthening ties with a number of countries across the Arab world \u2014 a region where observers say it hopes to drive a wedge between the US and the countries with which it has long-standing ties. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have always firmly defended the legitimate rights and interests of Arab and Muslim countries, and have always firmly supported the Palestinian people\u2019s efforts to restore their legitimate national rights and interests,\u201d Wang told the visiting delegation. <\/p>\n Immediate ceasefire and longer-term peace were also key topics during a roughly 10-day tour in the Middle East last month from China\u2019s special envoy for the region, Zhai Jun, who visited Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, according to China\u2019s Foreign Ministry. <\/p>\n Last week the envoy visited and met with officials in Turkey and Bahrain, where Zhai also discussed the \u201cregional situation\u201d with representatives from Singapore, the US and Europe on the sidelines of an international conference. <\/p>\n So far there have been no apparent concrete outcomes from the diplomacy. <\/p>\n Zhai\u2019s itinerary thus far has also not included stops in Israel, Palestinian-controlled territories, or Iran, per information released by China\u2019s Foreign Ministry. Wang spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on the phone last month. It\u2019s not clear if China has been in contact with Hamas officials during the latest conflict. <\/p>\n Visiting officials in Beijing this week include Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki of the West Bank-based Palestinian National Authority. <\/p>\n China earlier this month dispatched the head of its Foreign Ministry\u2019s West Asian and North African affairs department to Iran, where the conflict was part of discussions, according to a post on the department\u2019s WeChat social media account. <\/p>\n Iran is a longtime backer of both Hamas and Lebanon-based Hezbollah. <\/p>\n In the talks, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said they\u2019d already held discussions with the Iranians on the topic, the senior official said. <\/p>\n Biden also made clear to Xi that he viewed Hamas as separate from the Palestinians. The US views Hamas as a terrorist organization that has perpetuated the suffering of Palestinian people, and has upheld Israel\u2019s right to retaliate against the group. <\/p>\n Beijing has not referred to Hamas in its statements, but instead frames the current situation as a Palestinian-Israeli conflict. <\/p>\n\n The world must \u201cmust act urgently\u201d to stem the conflict in Gaza, China\u2019s top diplomat said\u00a0Monday during a meeting with officials from Arab and Muslim majority nations, as Beijing steps up its efforts to play a role in establishing ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":11870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} China\u2019s push for peace<\/h2>\n
Engaging major players?<\/h2>\n