China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated on Oct. 10 that “China welcomes all efforts to restore peace and save lives,” Global Times reported. Wang made his remarks during a joint press conference with Swiss Federal Councillor and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in Bellinzona, Switzerland. “He said the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is a stain on the 21st century, and that humanity’s conscience must be awakened,” Global Times reported. “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.”
In his regular Friday briefing on Oct. 10, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun added, “China hopes that a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Gaza will be realized as early as possible, the humanitarian crisis will be effectively eased, and tensions in the region will be diffused.” He added: “China opposes Israel building settlements on the occupied territories of Palestine. The UN Security Council has clarified that the construction of such settlements violates international law. With a ceasefire just reached and the situation still highly fragile in Gaza, Israel should refrain from taking any inflammatory and escalatory actions.”
An editorial in China Daily expressed cautious optimism on Oct. 9. The “plan brokered by the U.S. President marks an important moment in the long-standing conflict in Gaza … it is best viewed with cautious optimism and a critical eye toward its broader implications.… The plan is a potential path toward ending the conflict … [but] the underlying issues that have fueled the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades remain unresolved…. For the Palestinian people, the true measure of the plan will be tangible improvements in their daily lives and the restoration of their rights.”
