Μake us preferred on Google The Palestinian issue lies at the heart of the crisis in the Middle East, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday while hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah in Beijing.
Xi called for a political solution, the resumption of peace talks between Palestinians and Israel, and the establishment of Palestine as an independent state, according to an official summary of the meeting carried by Chinese state radio.
The two leaders called for ending the U.S.-Iran war through negotiations that address the conflict’s root causes.
After discussing Middle East issues, their joint statement said normal shipping should be restored through the Strait of Hormuz, while calling for a comprehensive solution to replace the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
They also accused Israel of launching a dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where numerous incidents of settler violence against Palestinians have been recorded.
First visit to India in seven years
It also emerged yesterday that Xi will attend the BRICS summit next month in New Delhi with a large Chinese delegation, marking his first visit to India in seven years, a sign of warming ties between the two countries, which have often been at odds.
India is hosting the summit on September 12 and 13, where Xi’s presence is expected to signal efforts by Beijing and New Delhi to stabilize relations following deadly border clashes in 2020.
More recently, a fresh border dispute triggered sharp diplomatic exchanges between the two sides.
Officials from both countries are expected to use the summit to explore ways of expanding cooperation while managing long-standing disputes over borders and regional security issues, Indian sources added.
The world’s two most populous nations, both nuclear powers, share a roughly 3,800-kilometer border in the Himalayas, much of it disputed.
