BEIJING (Reuters) – China Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the war in Gaza continues to escalate and China is calling for a larger-scale, more authoritative and effective international peace conference and a concrete timetable to implement a two-state solution.
Wang made the comments to reporters after talks with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, sharing his views on the Israel-Hamas war, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry late on Sunday.
Separately, Wang also held talks with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States where the two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on the conflict, reaching several points on helping to solve the crisis.
Wang, China’s top diplomat, is currently travelling through Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and the Ivory Coast until Thursday.
After talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Wang said the conflict in Gaza “is causing massive casualties among innocent civilians, leading to serious humanitarian disasters and accelerating the spread of negative spillover effects,” according to the Chinese foreign ministry statement.
Wang said the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip has been completely destroyed, with millions struggling to survive. He said China has decided to provide a third tranche of emergency humanitarian assistance.
Wang also said the international community should listen carefully to the legitimate concerns of countries in the region, “and the future governance of Gaza should be an important step towards the two-state solution”.
In separate talks with Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, the two agreed that the international community should take action to de-escalate the situation and achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible, according to Chinese state media.
“Influential countries, in particular, need to play an objective, impartial and constructive role in this regard,” the two said according to a joint statement reported by Xinhua news late Sunday.
Both emphasised that the two-state solution remains the basis “for any future arrangements concerning the destiny of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
(Reporting by Bernard Orr; Editing by Sonali Paul and Michael Perry)
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