Wang Yi photo:fmprc

 

China welcomes all efforts to restore peace and save lives, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday, as he outlined China's views on the first phase of a ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas. 

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a joint press conference with Swiss Federal Councillor and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in Bellinzona. He said the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is a stain on the 21st century, and that humanity's conscience must be awakened. 

The Chinese side makes three appeals, Wang said. First, joint efforts should be made to achieve a genuine, comprehensive and lasting ceasefire to effectively ease the humanitarian crisis and restore regional stability; second, the international consensus on "Palestinians governing Palestine" should be upheld, and any arrangements concerning Gaza's future must respect the will of the Palestinian people; third, the overall direction of the "two-state solution" should be upheld without wavering. 

Only by establishing an independent Palestinian state and realizing its legitimate national rights can historical injustices and the root causes of violence be eliminated, paving the way for lasting peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel, Wang added.


China is willing to continue working with the international community, including Switzerland, to make unremitting efforts toward lasting peace and stability in the Middle East, Wang said.

Global Times