Chinese Foreign Minister Calls for Large-Scale Peace Conference to Discuss Crisis in Gaza, Affirms Establishment of Palestinian State

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (Wikimedia Commons/have a dream

JAKARTA - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for holding a large-scale, effective and authoritative international peace conference to discuss the crisis in the Gaza Strip, as well as a concrete schedule for implementing a two-state solution.

Foreign Minister Wang conveyed this after holding talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, discussing the Hamas-Israel conflict, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry Sunday evening.

"It is important to press for the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital," said Foreign Minister Wang in a press conference with Foreign Minister Shoukry, reported by The Times of Israel, January 15.

The two top diplomats called for "an international peace summit to find a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian struggle, by ending the occupation and establishing an independent, co-existing Palestinian state."

Additionally, a joint statement from the two ministers urged an end to "all acts of violence, killings and targeting of civilians and civilian institutions."

Separately, Chinese state media Xinhua also reported that Foreign Minister Wang discussed the conflict in Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. Both agreed a ceasefire "must be reached as soon as possible to prevent the conflict from escalating."

Wang said the Gaza Strip's infrastructure had been completely destroyed and millions of people were struggling to survive. He said China had decided to provide the third phase of emergency humanitarian assistance, quoted by Reuters.

He also said the international community must listen carefully to the concerns of countries in the region, "and a future Gaza administration must be an important step towards a two-state solution".

Foreign Minister Wang himself is known to be traveling to Africa by visiting Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Ivory Coast until next Thursday.

Previously, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an "international peace conference" to resolve the Hamas-Israel conflict. Beijing is known to have historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supports a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.