Beijing ready to facilitate peace talks

President Xi Jinping and visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attend a welcoming ceremony before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. （WANG ZHUANGFEI/CHINA DAILY）

President Xi Jinping reiterated on Wednesday China's support for the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights, saying that China is ready to play a positive role in facilitating peace talks on the Palestine issue and promote a comprehensive, fair and lasting solution.

Xi made the statement in talks with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who started a four-day state visit to China on Tuesday.

During the talks, Xi said that the Palestine issue has remained unresolved for over half a century, causing great suffering to the Palestinian people, and justice must be returned to Palestine as soon as possible. He put forward his proposals for the resolution of the issue.

The fundamental solution to the Palestine issue lies in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty on the basis of the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, Xi said.

He emphasized that the economic and livelihood needs of Palestine should be met, and the international community should provide more development aid and humanitarian assistance to Palestine.

Xi urged adhering to the correct direction of peace talks, respecting the historical status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem, abandoning excesses and provocative words and actions, and promoting the convening of a large-scale, more authoritative and more influential international peace conference in order to create conditions for restarting talks and make tangible efforts to help Palestine and Israel coexist peacefully.

China is willing to play an active role in assisting Palestine in achieving internal reconciliation and promoting peace talks, he said.

China was one of the earliest countries to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine. Beijing has said that China is willing to help broker relations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, which have deteriorated to the lowest level in recent years.

Abbas' visit came after China hosted talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia that resulted in the two restoring diplomatic relations.

China supports Palestine becoming a full member state of the United Nations, supports the strengthening of internal unity within Palestine, and supports the resumption of negotiations between Palestine and Israel based on the principles of "land for peace", relevant UN resolutions and the "two-state" solution, in order to achieve peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel, according to a joint statement released after the meeting.

The two presidents jointly announced the establishment of a strategic partnership. They highly commended the traditional friendship between the two countries, and agreed that China and Palestine are truly good friends, partners and brothers who trust and support each other, the statement said.

Xi said that facing changes in the international situation unseen in a century and new changes in the situation in the Middle East, China is willing to strengthen unity and cooperation with Palestine and other developing countries to enhance cooperation in international and regional affairs, promote collective cooperation between China and Arab states, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and uphold international fairness and justice.

Abbas expressed his gratitude for China's long-standing support and selfless help for the just cause of the Palestinian people. He said that Palestine firmly supports China's stance on its core interests and abides by the one-China principle.

The Palestinian side highly appreciates China's successful mediation of the dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and thanks China for proposing multiple initiatives to achieve a just resolution of the Palestine issue, Abbas said.

Palestine trusts in China's wisdom and just position, and looks forward to China playing a greater role in promoting internal reconciliation in Palestine and achieving peace in the Middle East, he added.

Prior to the talks, Xi held a grand welcoming ceremony for Abbas, which included a review of the People's Liberation Army Honor Guard by the two leaders and the firing of a 21-gun salute in Tian'anmen Square.

The two presidents witnessed the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation documents, including an economic and technological cooperation agreement.