BEIJING, — China reiterated demands on Monday for the US to play a positive role in resolving the Gaza diplomacy and to avoid obstructing attempts at the United Nations to end the bloodshed.
According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, China, as the rotating chair of the Security Council, has urged a cease-fire and the provision of humanitarian assistance, among other suggestions, but the council has been unable to talk in unison due to the opposition by “one nation.”
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the US to join the 14 other Security Council members in supporting a resolution encouraging an end to the bloodshed and reaffirming support for a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian crisis at an emergency high-level Security Council meeting on Sunday.
Wang, who presided over the simulated conference, stated that the “dangerous and critical” situation requires an immediate halt to hostilities.
Zhao, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said Monday that China “vehemently condemns” aggression against civilians and calls for an end to airstrikes, ground attacks, missile fire, and “any acts that aggravate the situation.”
There has been an increase in calls for the Biden administration to play a more proactive role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Efforts by China, Norway, and Tunisia to have the Security Council issue a resolution, including a call for a cessation of hostilities, have been thwarted so far by the US, Israel’s closest ally.
China has long represented itself as a stalwart supporter of the Palestinian cause, all the while strengthening diplomatic, economic, and military ties with Israel.
Wang assured the council that “China will intensify attempts to facilitate peace talks” and reaffirmed Beijing’s invitation to “Palestinian and Israeli peace activists to resume their dialogue in China.”
He invited “both sides’ delegates to come to China for direct talks.”