Israel-Gaza war: China’s Middle East point man Zhai Jun meets Arab League envoys in latest bid to defuse crisis

China will continue humanitarian aid to Gaza, special Middle East envoy Zhai Jun tells Arab delegates, reiterates support for ‘two-state solution’

Representatives of 22-nation bloc hope China will keep up its ‘constructive role’ on the Palestinian issue, Chinese foreign ministry statement says

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Palestinians in northern Gaza flee southwards after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning ahead of a possible ground invasion. Photo: AP

Published: 4:18pm, 14 Oct 2023Updated: 4:59pm, 14 Oct 2023

China’s Middle East envoy held talks with the Arab League as Beijing continued its diplomatic flurry to help resolve the latest flare-up between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants.

Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy to the Middle East, met representatives from the 22-member Arab bloc in Beijing on Friday, a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.

This came as Israeli warplanes continued to pound the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip after the Palestinian militant group’s shock cross-border assault a week ago, the deadliest in Israel’s 75-year history. About 3,100 people had been reported killed in the conflict as of Friday.

Zhai told the Arab envoys that China would continue to help with humanitarian aid to Gaza, the statement released on Saturday said, but did not elaborate on details of the future aid.

It also said Zhai reiterated China’s long-standing support for the “two-state solution” to the Palestine crisis.

The Arab League said it expected China to continue to play a “constructive role” on the Palestinian issue, according to the Chinese statement.