China's point man on Middle East affairs Tuesday said the country's new administration is adopting an active approach in supporting the Palestine-Israel peace process, but has no desire to compete with the US for influence in the region.
Wu Sike, China's special envoy to the Middle East, made the remarks on the sidelines of the UN International Meeting In Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace in Beijing.
It was the first time China has hosted such a meeting, which came on the heels of simultaneous visits to the country by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month and a four-point proposal for a solution to the Palestine question proposed by President Xi Jinping.
Although the two visiting leaders did not hold talks in the Chinese capital, it left the world to wonder how great a role Beijing could play in brokering peace in one of the world's longest continuous conflicts.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the two-day conference, Abdou Salam Diallo, chairman of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, cited China's economic, diplomatic and political weight, its status as a UN Security Council permanent member and the friendly ties with both parties.
"China is uniquely placed to level the playing field in the peace process," Diallo said.
Wu, who has been making visits to the Middle East, said China has put a lot of effort into pushing for peace, and the new government is consistent in its policy, but has exhibited a more open approach.
"It shows that China doesn't skirt difficult hot spot issues, but instead faces them and plays the role of a responsible great power," he said.
In fact, convening the meeting in China was a choice by the Palestinians to find alternatives to the US-dominated diplomatic endeavor in the region.
Bassam al-Salhi, a representative for Palestine to the meeting and head of the Palestinian People's Party, told the Global Times that China should be added to the Quartet, namely the US, UN, EU and Russia, to mediate, as the US has failed to find a path to peace.
Ahmad Tibi, deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset and leader of the Arab Movement for Change, an Arab party in the Jewish state, told the Global Times that China should have a "more tangible and active role" to push both parties to implement the vision of a two-State solution, while calling on the global community to pressure the Netanyahu government.
Responding to claims that China's growing engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict aims to replace the US, Wu said China doesn't have the capability or the desire to exclude others and China hopes to work with other parties to facilitate the resumption of peace talks.
"China and the US share many converging interests on Middle East issues. We have many channels including a strategic dialogue to exchange views over them," Wu told the Global Times Tuesday.
Ma Xiaolin, a Beijing-based Middle East expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday that Beijing mainly contributes to the peace process through the platform of the UN, and only has a limited sway over the region, given the size of its input.
"Beijing will not pressure the two parties as the US does, and will mainly adopt flexibility in its policies," Ma said.
In recent months, US Secretary of State John Kerry paid several visits to the Middle East in a bid to revive peace talks following a four-year deadlock. Arab leaders also made positive signals by reaffirming the Arab Peace Initiative.
In a keynote speech to the meeting, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, regarded the coming weeks as "critical and difficult," warning against missing the current window of opportunity.
The UN official noted tensions mounting in the West Bank over the expansion of settlements, which saw a 176 percent hike year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013, and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Diallo said the ball is now in the Israeli court.
The Israeli embassy in China said to the Global Times that the peace process could be achieved "only through direct dialogue between the two leaderships without any preconditions to the negotiations."
Diplomats from over 50 embassies in Beijing, experts and delegates from international organizations attended the meeting. The Israeli embassy did not send a representative to the event, even though it had been sent an invitation.