At a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri in Cairo on Sunday (January 14), Foreign Minister Wang Yi said "it is necessary to resolutely establish an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital."
In addition, the two foreign ministers also issued a joint statement calling for an immediate end to "all violence and killings targeting civilians and civilian facilities" in Gaza, where the 100-day Israel-Hamas conflict has left thousands dead.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Both foreign ministers called for "an international peace summit to find a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause by ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state".
According to Xinhua, Mr. Wang Yi further discussed the conflict with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Both sides agreed that a ceasefire should be reached as soon as possible to prevent the conflict from spreading.
This is China’s latest move to contribute to the solution to the conflict in the Gaza Strip. According to Mr. Wang Yi, in addition to organizing the above-mentioned peace conference, Beijing also hopes to see the parties come up with a specific timeframe to implement the two-state solution.
Earlier on Monday (Jan 15), Wang Yi said China had decided to provide a third round of emergency humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, adding that the international community should listen to the legitimate concerns of countries in the conflict zone and that "the future governance in Gaza should be an important step towards the two-state solution."
The Chinese Foreign Minister is currently on a trip to Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Ivory Coast, scheduled to end on January 18.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hold a press conference in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping also called for an international peace conference to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Historically, China has shown goodwill to the Palestinians and supported a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
At least 23,968 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting in Gaza so far, mostly women and children, according to health officials in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Gaza and the West Bank are separated by Israeli territory. Both were occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War (also known as the Arab-Israeli War) of 1967, although Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops and the last settlers from Gaza in 2005.
Hoai Phuong (according to Reuters, SCMP)
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