Global Courant
Chinese state media had spoken of the possibility of a breakthrough in Israel and the Palestinian leadership. But in the Middle East, the latest proposal did not inspire much hope.
“Against the backdrop of a wave of reconciliation in the Middle East, there is great expectation that this visit will bring more hope for peace to the region,” said a spokesman. editorial in Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party tabloid said on Tuesday. It also accused Washington of being “deeply guilty” in the Palestinian issue.
China has previously offered to broker relations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, including in 2013, 2017 and 2021. Mr Xi’s three-part plan on Wednesday did not appear to deviate much from earlier proposals. It included the creation of a fully sovereign Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital; a call for more international aid to a Palestinian state; and convening a “larger, more authoritative, more influential international peace conference” to advance talks, though the plan did not include details.
After peace talks broke down in 2014, there seems little chance of a resumption in the foreseeable future, with or without Chinese involvement: both Israelis and Palestinians are deeply divided and cannot agree among themselves on how to handle the conflict, let alone stand that they can find common ground. with the other side. Israel’s current government is the most right-wing government ever, few of its members support the concept of Palestinian sovereignty, and Chinese intervention is unlikely to change that.
Still, China’s role in brokering the Saudi-Iran deal, and its growing global stature in general, have shifted the stakes of its potential involvement, said Robert Mogielnicki, a senior resident scientist at the Arab Gulf States. Institute in Washington, who studied Chinese. relations in the Middle East. China’s past involvement in the region has been primarily economic, he said; now Beijing is signaling that it is “graduating” from that level of support.
“The specific context of what many people see as a changing world order may make this visit more meaningful,” he said.
Patrick Kingsley and Hiba Yazbek contributed reporting, and Joy Dong and John Liu contributed research
