Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Monday (April 17th) in separate talks with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that China stands ready to facilitate a peace agreement in the Middle East, state agency Xinhua reported. .
The phone talks with Israeli Foreign Ministers Eli Cohen and Palestinian Riyad Al-Maliki come as China makes a diplomatic breakthrough on the Middle East scene that embarrasses the United States.
Qin Gang encouraged his Israeli counterpart to "
take steps allowing the resumption of talks
", stressing that China was "
ready to play the role of facilitator
", according to the Xinhua agency.
China's foreign minister told his Palestinian counterpart that China supports resuming talks as soon as possible, according to the state agency.
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Two-state principle
The Chinese minister reminded his two counterparts that China supports a solution based on the two-state principle, while the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has stalled since 2014. US officials are trying to play down the role played by China, arguing that Beijing is still far from outplaying Americans in the Middle East, which remains largely under the protection of the American security umbrella.
But this diplomatic breakthrough by China challenges Washington, suspected of gradually giving up its place as a key player in the region to better focus in the short term on the war in Ukraine against Russia and, in the longer term, on the China and Asia-Pacific.