China urges establishment of Palestinian state

The Palestinian Authority foreign minister says China should play bigger role in the peace process.

By REUTERS
Updated: APRIL 13, 2017 16:46
China FM Wang Yi meets with Palestinian Authority FM Riyad al-Maliki on April 13, 2017 (REUTERS)
Palestinians must be allowed to build an independent state, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday after meeting Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, who pushed Beijing to do more in the Middle East peace process.
"This year marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations' passing of Palestine-Israel Partition Plan. According to the resolution at that time, Israel had the right to statehood, Palestine also had the right to statehood. However, after 70 years, what we can see is that Palestinian brothers have yet to establish an independent country with full sovereignty. This is unfair. This kind of historical injustice must be corrected and cannot continue," Yi stated during a joint briefing with al-Maliki.
Chinese envoys occasionally visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories, though China has traditionally played little role in Middle East conflicts or diplomacy, despite its reliance on the region for oil.
Beijing has traditionally had a good relationship with the Palestinians.
"We do like to see more Chinese involvement in bringing about a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine. And of course, you know, China is a good friend to both parties, to Israel and Palestine. That really qualifies her to play a role if that really suits her," added al-Maliki at the briefing.
The Middle East, however, is fraught with risk for China, a country that has little experience navigating the religious and political tensions that frequently rack the region.