China on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for Arab efforts to end the Gaza conflict, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese government wants to see access to humanitarian aid in Gaza, a more stabile West Bank, and progress toward a two-state solution, said its special envoy to the Middle East at a gathering in Beijing of diplomats from Arab states.
Newsweek contacted the U.S. State Department for comment.
Why It Matters
China’s international diplomacy in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is part of its desire to play a bigger leadership role in the Middle East, in a direct challenge to U.S. support for Israel amid Arab frustrations over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the U.S.-backed aid distribution system.
Since Israel started its offensive into Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack in 2023, Beijing has sought to undermine American credibility in the region amid rising U.S.-China trade and political tensions.
Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo
What To Know
Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy to the Middle East, said the war in Gaza “must be stopped immediately” so humanitarian aid can flow freely, according to a Chinese readout of the meeting.
“China supports Arab countries in strengthening unity and playing a greater role in the Palestinian question, and is willing to work with the international community, including Arab countries, to promote the comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question on the basis of the two-state solution at an early date,” Zhai said.
In what was described by the Chinese Foreign Ministry as a collective statement, the Arab envoys said their governments “firmly oppose and condemn Israel’s violence, blockade and starvation policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, as well as any actions that infringe on Palestinian lands and forcibly alter the demographic structure of Palestine.”
“The Arab side hopes that China will continue to uphold a just position on the Palestinian question and play a more constructive role, helping the Palestinian people determine their own future and ultimately achieve the establishment of an independent State of Palestine,” the Chinese readout said.
In November 2023, China hosted a high‑level meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority countries to discuss the Israel‑Hamas war, in what was an early sign that Beijing saw the conflict as an opportunity to step in at a time when U.S. credibility was under strain.
China and the United States have since found themselves on opposite ends of the diplomatic divide at the United Nations over where to lay the blame for the crisis in Gaza.
What People Are Saying
Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy to the Middle East, said on Tuesday: “China firmly stands with the Palestinian people and on the side of fairness and justice. Currently, the Palestinian question is at a critical stage.”
Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow at Chatham House, wrote back in October 2023: “China has refrained from describing the Hamas incursion into Israel as a terrorist attack but has called Israel’s retaliation ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinian civilians. […] The ultimate objective is to degrade the U.S.’s global standing and win the ‘discourse power’ war by capitalizing on sympathy for Palestinians worldwide.”
What Happens Next
Key Gulf and Arab powers may step up efforts to fill the vacuum left by the failed U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
