Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday stressed that "an ultimate way out of the Palestinian issue lies in the implementation of the two-state solution," saying what is pressing now is the ceasefire and cessation of violence, and the United Nations Security Council has the responsibility to seek early de-escalation.
He expounded on China's position on the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict during a phone talk with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
China holds the opinion that the Security Council should reconfirm the two-state solution and urge Palestine and Israel to resume peace talks based on the solution as soon as possible, Wang said.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been escalating recently, causing huge casualties, which is distressing, he said. The root cause of the deterioration of the situation is that for a long time there has not been a just solution to the Palestinian issue, he added.
"Especially, in recent years, the Middle East peace process has deviated from its original track, the UN Security Council resolutions have not been earnestly implemented and, in particular, the Palestinian right to build an independent state has been continuously violated."
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China, as the president of the UN Security Council for May, has pushed the council to hold two emergency consultations on the conflict and has drafted a press statement to guide the council to take actions, he said.
But regrettably, the council has so far failed to reach an agreement, with the United States standing on the opposite side of international justice, Wang said.
China will continue to firmly support the just cause of the Palestinian people to strive for the restoration of their legitimate national rights, support a just solution to the current issue through political dialogue, and support the UN, the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in playing a constructive role in this regard, Wang said.
For his part, Qureshi said that Pakistan agrees with China's position on the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict, supports the two-state solution and the just cause of the Palestinian people, and advocates promoting a solution through dialogue and negotiation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.
On bilateral ties, the two FMs agreed to take the opportunity of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties to open up a brighter prospect for bilateral relations, highlighting the importance of the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan.
On cooperation against COVID-19, Wang said China has always given priority to Pakistan in its vaccine cooperation, and stands ready to provide more support to Pakistan in its fight against the pandemic as well as maximum convenience for Pakistan's purchase of anti-epidemic materials from China.
The two FMs also touched on Afghan issue. Noting how the "hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan" has severely impacted Afghanistan's domestic peace process and negatively affected regional stability, they agreed to strengthen communication and coordination under the framework of mechanisms such as Pakistan-China-Afghanistan trilateral dialogue to jointly push forward the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.