China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that the country would do its best to promote Palestinian-Israeli reconciliation, calling on Israel to ensure the protection of Chinese citizens and institutions in the Middle East.
The minister also noted that despite countries’ right to self-defence, they “must respect international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians”.
State media reported on Tuesday that China was willing to support any resolution if it promoted peace, adding that Mr Wang called the conflict “a major choice between war and peace”.
China condemned the violent actions against civilians, stating that Israel was “going beyond self-defence”, but made no mention of Hamas in its comments.
Wang Yi held a telephone conversation with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki, expressing “deep sympathy” with the people of Gaza and saying a peaceful solution to the conflict was needed. China’s Foreign Minister called for a “more authoritative, wide-ranging and effective” international peace conference to resume peace talks.
The UN Security Council should effectively shoulder its responsibility, the international community must act urgently, and countries outside the region, especially major powers, should be objective and impartial.
The situation in the Middle East has further divided the world powers. China and Russia supported the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, while the US backed Israel’s right to self-defence and condemned the Hamas attack.
