China’s special envoy to the Middle East Zhai Jun revealed his country’s endeavor to mobilize international efforts to immediately stop the Israeli war on Gaza.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of his visit to Riyadh, the Chinese diplomat said that his talks with Saudi officials highlighted a convergence of views and a common desire to increase coordination and bilateral consultations toward stopping the Israeli attack on Gaza.
He added that he would also visit Jordan to rally efforts to achieve a ceasefire and calm the situation, stressing that the Palestinian people have equal rights to establish an independent state.
The Chinese official said that the only means to resolve the Palestinian issue lies in implementing the two-state solution and restoring the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people. He added that violence and counter-violence only lead to falling into a vicious circle and create more obstacles to the political solution.
Zhai Jun said that China calls for holding an international peace conference with more credibility, on a broader scale, and with greater effectiveness, to urgently push the Palestinian and Israeli sides to resume peace negotiations and set a detailed timetable and road map.
He noted that true and lasting peace and security for all in the Middle East region cannot be achieved except after finding a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian cause.
The Chinese official stressed that his country will continue to support the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and establish their independent state.
He went on to say that since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Chinese side has been making intense efforts to achieve a ceasefire and prevent more violence.
In this regard, he told Asharq Al-Awsat that a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, held several meetings and made extensive phone calls for this purpose with the foreign ministers and senior political figures of Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkiye, Russia, the United States, Brazil, Malaysia, and others.
A meeting was also held with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to shed light on China’s position and vision towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
According to Zhai Jun, China strongly condemns and opposes all actions that target civilians and violate international law, and calls for an immediate ceasefire, the protection of civilians, and the opening of humanitarian relief corridors, to ensure the arrival of living necessities to the residents of the Gaza Strip.
The Chinese official held the United Nations and the UN Security Council responsible for calming the situation as quickly as possible, stressing that the international community must act urgently and provide more humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. In the same context, he called for major powers to move to calm the situation and commit to objectivity and justice.
The Chinese diplomat stated that his country provided urgent humanitarian assistance through both the Palestinian National Authority and United Nations agencies, and will continue to deliver material assistance according to the needs of the residents of the Gaza Strip.
