China reaffirms position on Palestinian-Israeli issue

On the question of Palestine, China has always stood firmly on the side of peace, human rights and international law, and has supported the United Nations and the secretary-general in playing a unique and irreplaceable role in resolving the conflict, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York.

Resolution 2712, the first resolution adopted by the UN Security Council after the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out on Oct 7, "has promoted initial steps for a cease-fire and is a good start to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through political means", said Wang.

He emphasized that the key issue now is whether the temporary cease-fire agreement can be extended and whether fighting will resume in Gaza after the temporary ceasefire ends.

"The war must not be rekindled," Wang said. A comprehensive cease-fire should be realized to avoid further humanitarian disasters, and detainees should be released, he said.

Humanitarian supplies should be allowed to enter Gaza without hindrance, more crossing points should be opened, and an effective supervision mechanism should be established, he said.

The "two-state solution" should be reestablished as soon as possible, which is the greatest common denominator of the international community and the fundamental way out of the Israeli-Palestinian issue, said Wang.

"China calls for a more authoritative, larger-scale, and more effective international peace conference to be convened as soon as possible and to formulate a road map and timetable for relaunching the two-state solution. China supports the leading role of the United Nations in this regard," he said.

As the rotating president of the Security Council for November, China would host a high-level meeting of the council on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on Wednesday, with Wang presiding over the meeting.

Guterres said he appreciated China for hosting the meeting and noted the "constructive role played by China during its presidency of the Security Council in advancing a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue and alleviating the humanitarian situation".

He said the UN firmly advocates the implementation of the "two-state solution" in order to fundamentally resolve the question of Palestine. "We look forward to more consensus in the Security Council on this issue," he said.

Wang also met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir on the same day.

Vieira said Brazil expects China to play an influential and leading role and is ready to work closely with China to promote new action by the Security Council and to make a unanimous and clear statement.

Wang said on Wednesday's high-level meeting comes at a critical juncture on the last day of the temporary cease-fire agreement. The meeting should send a clear message that we must not allow the war to rekindle or allow more innocent civilians to be harmed.

Kadir said that China has an important influence in the world and has always maintained a fair stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He said he expects China to lead with concrete initiatives aligned with the majority of international wishes.

Malaysia fully supports China's position, advocating for Security Council action to prevent renewed conflict, accelerate humanitarian assistance, and address the crisis, he said.