Smoke billows following Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 25, 2024. /CFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the two-state solution to solve Palestinian-Israeli conflicts and pledged assistance for the Gaza humanitarian crisis and post-conflict reconstruction on Thursday in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 10th ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.
Noting the escalating Palestinian-Israeli conflict has thrown the people into tremendous suffering, Xi called for justice and a ceasefire.
"War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever. Commitment to the two-state solution should not be wavered at will," Xi said.
He stated that China firmly supports the establishment of an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
China also supports Palestine's full membership in the UN, and supports a more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference to ease the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Xi added.
On top of the previous 100 million yuan (about $13.8 million) of emergency humanitarian assistance, the president pledged an additional 500 million yuan of assistance to help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support post-conflict reconstruction.
He also promised to donate $3 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in support of its emergency humanitarian assistance to Gaza.