Chinese President Xi Jinping promised aid for the Gaza Strip on Thursday and spoke out in favor of a peace conference during a meeting with top representatives of Arab countries.
China supports full UN membership for Palestine and the convening of a larger, more authoritative and effective international peace conference, Xi said in Beijing on Thursday.
Xi said Beijing plans to help with post-war reconstruction and would donate $3 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). “The war must not continue indefinitely, justice must not be permanently lacking,” said the Chinese head of state and leader of the Communist Party.
Beijing has taken a neutral position in the current conflict in Gaza and has repeatedly called for ceasefire negotiations, without directly condemning the October 7 attacks led by the Palestinian militant organization Hamas that sparked the conflict.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing again expressed concern over the Israeli offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and called on “relevant parties” to end the fighting.
China has had good relations with the resource-rich Arab world for years.
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, Tunisian President Kais Saied and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan traveled to Beijing for the China-China Cooperation Forum Arab States.
Beijing is investing money in a number of projects in the region through its Belt and Road Initiative. Xi mentioned green technologies and artificial intelligence as other potential areas of cooperation.
