Chinese chicanery: ‘One-China’ for Taiwan, but ‘two-state plan’ for Israel, Palestine

Beijing: China may be gearing up to invade and capture Taiwan, but for others it is ready to play the peacemaker. Days after presenting a 12-point plan to end Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing has now said it is ready to broker peace between embattled Israel and Palestine. China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang had separate phone calls with his Israeli and Palestinian Authority counterparts, and expressed concerns over the intensifying conflict between the two sides. He said the solution was to resume peace negotiations. ‘Two-state solution’ Qin told Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that China encouraged both the sides to “show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks." He further said that “China is ready to provide convenience for this." Qin told Cohen that the “top priority” was to control the situation and restrict it from escalating. In his conversation with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki, the Chinese minister said Beijing was willing to play an “active role” in the resumption of peace talks in one of the world’s longest-running conflicts. Qin further told Maliki that China is “concerned about the current tension between Israel and Palestine, and the current top priority is to bring the situation under control and prevent the conflict from escalating or even getting out of control.” In both calls Qin emphasised China’s push for peace talks on the basis of implementing a “two-state solution,” a report by Xinhua said. Israel, Palestine welcome China’s efforts According to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry, the Palestinian foreign minister told Qin that he welcomed all efforts by China, and that Beijing had proved to be a “responsible major power” with the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal. Meanwhile, Cohen thanked Qin for China’s efforts in the conflict. He, however, said that it seemed “difficult to resolve this issue in the short term”. “Israel attaches great importance to China’s influence, pays close attention to the Iranian nuclear issue, and expects China to play a positive role,” the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Cohen as saying. During the conversation with Israel and Palestine ministers, Qin also said that China had always supported the strategic autonomy of Middle Eastern countries and was willing to continue contributing to peace and stability in the region. Israel-Palestine tensions Tensions between Israel and Palestine increased over the recent months after Israeli forces stepped up military raids in the West Bank. Earlier this month, clashes were reported at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem that drew condemnation from Arab countries across the region. Saudi Arabia, with whom Israel hopes to normalise ties, said Israel’s “storming” of al-Aqsa undermined peace efforts." US-brokered peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza — territories Israel captured in the 1967 war — have stalled for since 2014 and show no sign of reviving. According to a report Palestinian news agency Wafa, China supports Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations and calls for the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .