Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged this Monday for a political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which he described as an “important choice between war and peace” that affects the entire world. 

In a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, the Chinese foreign minister expressed the Asian giant’s deep concern about the escalation of the conflict and the growing deterioration of the situation, as well as the numerous civilian victims, the Xinhua news agency reported today.

“China condemns any actions that harm civilians and opposes violations of international law,” Wang said.

The Chinese minister stressed that the “painful lesson of the repetitive cycle of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict” demonstrates the importance of common security to achieve sustainable security and the need for a political solution.

“The two-state solution is the consensus of the international community and we encourage both sides to return to the path of this option, resume peace talks and achieve peaceful coexistence,” Wang said.

China does not seek “selfish interests” in the conflict and supports any efforts that contribute to peace and reconciliation between Palestine and Israel, he added.

In a separate telephone conversation with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, Wang expressed his “deep sympathy” with the people of Gaza and said what they need most are security and efforts to stop the war and promote peace, reported this Tuesday the Foreign Ministry of the Asian giant.

China called for the convening of a “more authoritative, comprehensive and effective international peace conference” as soon as possible to promote the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The UN Security Council must effectively shoulder its responsibility, the international community must act urgently, and countries outside the region, especially major powers, must be objective and impartial,” Wang Yi said.

Beijing has been very active in recent days in an attempt to find a solution to the conflict.

This Saturday, China’s special envoy for the Middle East, Zhai Jun, on tour in the region, considered the situation in the Gaza Strip with “great concern,” calling it “very serious,” and observed a growing risk of conflict large scale, as well as the expansion of armed disputes on neighboring borders.

In a previous meeting on October 19 in Qatar with his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Bogdanov, the Chinese diplomat stated that “the root of the current conflict in Israel and Palestine is due to the lack of guarantees for the rights of the Palestinian people.”

In addition, he added that the Asian giant will seek to promote “cooling” the situation with its Russian neighbor as soon as possible. 

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