World

China Urges Israel to Halt West Bank Settlement Expansion

By Al Jazeera Staff

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a meeting in Azerbaijan that Israel should stop and reverse its ‘forced establishment’ of West Bank settlements, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry. Wang said China has consistently viewed the Palestinian question as the greatest historical injustice of this century and stressed that the two‑state solution is the correct path to a resolution. He added that the immediate priority is to fully open access to the Gaza Strip to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. Wang also said China is willing to work with the international community to push all parties back to dialogue and seek a political settlement. Wang was attending the Seventh Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence‑Building Measures in Asia in Baku as the special representative of President Xi Jinping, Xinhua reported. In September, President Xi visited Cairo for the first time in a decade and called on Middle East countries to oppose external influence and consider reshaping the region’s security order. The talks covered the US‑Israel war on Iran, with both presidents urging diplomatic solutions to reach a comprehensive agreement to end the war, according to a statement from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el‑Sisi’s spokesperson. In March, China criticised the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, demanding an immediate halt to the joint attacks. Wang told his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar that the attack on Iran came as negotiations between Washington and Tehran had made significant progress, including addressing Israel’s security concerns, the foreign ministry said in a statement following the start of the war. China was Iran’s largest trading partner, buying up to 90 percent of its oil, according to the US‑China Economic and Security Review Commission. In 2021, Beijing signed a 25‑year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with Tehran. At the same time, Beijing has spent the past decade cultivating closer ties with Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and remains a top trade partner of both the US and Israel.