Al-Jazeera / June 14, 2023
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to Beijing comes as China stakes out a greater role in the Middle East to counter US influence.
President Xi Jinping says China backs the Palestinian struggle for statehood as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrived for a three-day visit.
The Palestinian leader was welcomed with full military honours at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday in Beijing.
“We are good friends and partners,” Xi told Abbas at the start of their meeting. “We have always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights.”
Xi made the comments as China stakes out a greater role in the Middle East to edge out the United States’ influence there while seeking to facilitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
A solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies in the establishment of an “independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital”, Xi was quoted as saying by Chinese state media – reiterating a 1967 UN Security Council resolution that Israel rejects.
Abbas said his administration was “looking forward to strengthening cooperation with China” and securing investment.
“We especially appreciate the Chinese side’s commitment to financing a number of development projects presented by Palestine. We wish the speedy dispatch of technical delegations to implement these projects,” Abbas said.
‘Just and durable solution’
Xi called China’s “strategic partnership” with Palestine an “important milestone in the history of bilateral relations”.
Beijing has long maintained diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority and since Abbas’s last visit in 2017 has talked up its ability to mediate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have been stalled since 2014.
Beijing has sought to bolster its influence in the Middle East, helping broker a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March, while challenging longstanding American sway in the region.
Xi travelled to Saudi Arabia in December for the first China-Arab States Summit. He also met Abbas and promised to “work for an early, just and durable solution to the Palestinian issue”.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, meanwhile, was in Beijing in February – the first Iranian leader to visit China in 30 years.
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SOURCE: AL-JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives in China
Al-Jazeera / June 13, 2023
Four-day state visit comes amid hopes China can help facilitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has arrived in Beijing with China expressing readiness to help facilitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
State-run broadcaster CGTN said Abbas landed in the Chinese capital on Tuesday morning for a four-day state visit. It is Abbas’s fifth official visit to the world’s second-largest economy.
Official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Abbas is expected to meet China’s President Xi Jinping during the trip.
The two are set to “exchange opinions… on the latest developments on the Palestinian arena as well as on regional and international issues of mutual concern”, WAFA reported.
Abbas will also meet Premier Li Qiang, the news agency added.
The longtime Palestinian leader is an “old and good friend of the Chinese people”, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said last week.
“China has always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights,” he added.
Beijing has sought to boost its ties to the Middle East, helping broker a rapprochement in March between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, and challenging long-standing United States influence.
Xi travelled to Saudi Arabia last December for the first China-Arab States Summit on a trip during which he also met Abbas and promised to “work for an early, just and durable solution to the Palestinian issue”.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, meanwhile, was in Beijing in February – the first Iranian leader to visit China in 30 years.
Beijing has also proposed an unprecedented summit with Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council, which could take place later this year.
In an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua published this week, Palestinian official Abbas Zaki said China and the Palestinians were “friends closer than brothers”.
“I am very pleased to see that China has been more involved in Middle East affairs after the China-Arab States Summit last year,” he added.
The US has sought to address heightened Israeli-Palestinian tension, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to undermine prospects for a Palestinian state.
Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have been stalled since 2014.
