Analysis of Wang Yi’s meeting with the joint delegation of foreign ministers of Arab and Islamic countries: The delegation aims to put pressure on the United States | Lianhe Zaobao

When Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Chinese Foreign Minister, held talks with a joint delegation of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries on the Israel-Kazakhstan conflict, he called on Israel to stop collective punishment of the people of Gaza; Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal urged the international community to “stop Israel” “The aggressors continue to violate international law and international humanitarianism” and we cannot remain indifferent.

Scholars interviewed analyzed that it is difficult for China to play a major role in the ceasefire between Israel and Kazakhstan. A joint delegation of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries will begin visiting the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council this week. The focus is to put pressure on the United States and urge the United States not to support Israel.

Arab and Islamic leaders held a joint special summit two weeks ago on the Israel-Kazakhstan conflict. The summit communique urged the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel’s “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed in the Palestinian territories. Among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the delegation started with China, seeking to promote an immediate ceasefire between the Israel-Kazakhstan conflict.

The delegation visited China from Monday to Tuesday (November 20-21) and held talks with Wang Yi in Beijing on Monday. The delegation also met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on the same day.

In a rare move, Chinese officials on Monday invited a large number of foreign media in Beijing to cover the opening of talks between the delegation and Wang Yi.

According to the Chinese interpreter at the scene, Faisal emphasized that the joint delegation seeks to send a clear signal, “that is, an immediate ceasefire and fighting, an immediate stop to the killing, and humanitarian supplies must be delivered to Gaza immediately.”

Faisal urged the international community to respond effectively to the disaster and “stop the Israeli aggressors’ continued violations of international law and international humanitarian law.” He said: “We should take action and cannot remain indifferent. This is the responsibility of our international community.”

Faisal also said, “I very much look forward to carrying out more cooperation with China to jointly shoulder the responsibility, stop the current dangerous situation, prevent the further spread of the crisis, and make efforts as soon as possible.”

Members of the joint delegation participating in the talks include Palestinian Foreign Minister Maliki, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Safadi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno, and Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Taha.

Maliki condemned Israel’s “barbaric crimes” against the Palestinian people and criticized everything Israel has done as a serious violation of the two-state solution and “what it has done is criminal.”

In his brief opening remarks, Wang Yi described China as a “good friend and brother” of Arab and Muslim countries. He said that China has always firmly safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of Arab Islamic countries and has always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and interests.

Wang Yi’s opening remarks also included statements about Israel’s “war and crimes against humanity.” When talking about the situation in Gaza, he said that the conflict “has caused tens of thousands of Palestinian and Israeli casualties” and reiterated that China “firmly stands on the side of justice and justice” in the conflict.

Wang Yi said that the special joint summit of Arab-Islamic leaders called for a ceasefire and war, protection of civilians, humanitarian relief and the implementation of a two-state solution; China “fully supports” this.

In a press release issued by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the meeting, Wang Yi was quoted as saying that China opposes any forced displacement and forced relocation of Palestinian civilians, and called on Israel to stop collective punishment of the Gaza people and open humanitarian corridors as soon as possible to prevent a larger incident. humanitarian disaster.

Many analysts believe that China seeks to maintain good relations with Israel, its important economic and trade partner, and at the same time strives to establish a leading role for developing countries in the world, including speaking out for Palestine; although China has slightly softened its attitude towards Israel in the past month or so, But a careful balancing act continues between Israel and Palestine.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, James Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S. S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, analyzed that China’s position on the Israel-Kazakhstan issue has not changed; China is unwilling to intervene in mediation and has a negative attitude toward Israel and Hamas. Sri Lanka’s influence is not enough to promote mediation.

Dorsey pointed out that “the core goal of the joint delegation’s visit to many countries is to put pressure on the United States, because the United States is the only country that can influence Israel’s decision-making.” Their choice of China as their first stop is also a way to put pressure on the United States. Way. As far as this meeting in Beijing is concerned, apart from creating a positive image for the UN delegation and China, it will not have much effect on easing the Israeli-Kazakhstan conflict.