China sides with Palestinians by snubbing showcase for Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan
- China and Russia will both shun the event after Palestinian Authority complains US president’s pro-Israel policies are undermining a two-state solution
- Trump hopes to unveil the ‘deal of the century’ at a Bahrain conference, but Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says the plan will ‘go to hell’
China and Russia will join the Palestinian Authority in shunning a US-led conference designed to kick-start the Middle East peace process by unveiling the “deal of the century”.
Last week the US announced that the “Peace to Prosperity” workshop, to be held in Bahrain on June 25 and 26, would explore “potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by a peace agreement” between the Israelis and Palestinians.
But the Palestinians refused to attend the meeting, saying there must be a political settlement first.
President Mahmoud Abbas said he did not “recognise this conference”, adding that “Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ will go to hell”.
Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh insisted that “any solution to the conflict in Palestine must be political … and based on ending the [Israeli] occupation”.
In a meeting with Nabil Shaath, a foreign affairs adviser to Abbas, on Monday, China’s de facto ambassador Guo Wei said Russia and China had jointly agreed to stay away from the event, the Palestinian Authority’s news agency WAFA reported.
also reiterated China’s support for the two-state solution – a principle the Palestinians have accused Donald Trump of undermining, since taking office, by pursuing a series of pro-Israeli policies.
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In late 2017 the US president recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv.
The US said it was because of a failure to start meaningful peace talks with the Israelis; but Palestinian leaders described the move as “a declaration of war” on the peace process.
In February, Washington further stopped all aid, worth more than US$60 million a year, to Palestinian security services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Guo’s meeting with Shaath coincided with a tour of the Middle East by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, and other senior officials, including Middle East envoy Brian Greenblatt, to shore up support for the Bahrain conference.
On Wednesday, Kushner met Jordan’s King Abdullah, who told him that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be on “the basis of the two-state solution” that would give the Palestinians a capital in East Jerusalem, according to the Royal Hashemite Court.
It is not yet known whether the king, who acts as custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, will attend the conference.
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When asked on Tuesday whether China would stay away from the Bahrain conference, Lu Kang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said: “I am not aware of that and China has not received a formal invitation to the meeting”.
He continued: “But I am sure you know that the Chinese government’s position on the question of Palestine is clear and consistent.
“We believe in the international consensus and principles – including the two-state solution, relevant UN resolutions, the principle of ‘land for peace’ and the Arab Peace Initiative – should be adhered to.”
Yin Gang, a Middle East specialist from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said China was staying away from the Bahrain conference at the request of the Palestinians, who “are not interested in any plan proposed by the Trump administration”.
“China and Russia will not root for the US [on this issue],” Yin added.
Li Weijian, a foreign policy researcher and Middle East specialist at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said China and Russia have similar positions on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
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Li said that “Palestine has been completely marginalised” in the run-up to the Bahrain conference and “the US has never consulted China and Russia”.
“The US’ so-called deal of the century will only serve the interests of Israel. So the Palestinians want support from China and Russia in boycotting the conference.”
