In a March 24 interview with Al Arabiya network in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi presented a wide-ranging, coordinated Five-Point Initiative on Achieving Security and Stability in the Middle East, properly known as Southwest Asia. Wang said that “China wishes to propose a five-point initiative on achieving security and stability in the Middle East.” The March 28 briefing presented the plan’s fifth point for economic development of the region. The second and fourth points stand out, as China attempts to shift Southwest Asia from the instability caused by British geopolitics and its plots for war, to a trajectory of peace through development.
On the question of Israel and Palestine, the second point, Wang stated: “Nothing represents equity and justice in the Middle East more than a sound solution to the question of Palestine and earnest implementation of the two-state solution. We support active mediation by the international community toward this objective and holding an authoritative international meeting on this matter when conditions are ripe. In its presidency of the UN Security Council this May, China will encourage the Security Council to fully deliberate on the question of Palestine to reaffirm the two-state solution. China will continue to invite peace advocates from Palestine and Israel to China for dialogue, and also welcome Palestinian and Israeli representatives to China for direct negotiations.”
