Chinese, Saudi foreign ministers discuss regional issues

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The foreign ministers of China and Saudi Arabia on Friday discussed the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Wang Yi hosted his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Beijing where he attended the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, an official statement released in Beijing said.

Faisal thanked China for its “fair position on the Palestinian issue,” the statement said.

On the Palestinian issue, Wang stressed, “the legitimate position of Arab countries is China's position.”

“China will continue to unite and cooperate with Arab countries and stand on the right side of history, fairness and justice, and international humanitarianism,” said Wang.

According to the statement, Wang and Faisal also exchanged views on the Ukrainian crisis.

The duo “agreed that holding a Ukrainian peace conference should follow the basic principles of recognition by the parties concerned, equal participation by all parties, and fair discussion of various plans.”

“China will continue to promote peace and dialogue and play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis,” Wang said.

​​​​​​​- Hard for China to attend Ukraine Peace Conference, says Beijing

The talks came ahead of a scheduled peace conference on Ukraine in Switzerland next month.

Beijing has said it supports an international peace conference that is “recognized by both the Russian and Ukrainian sides with equal participation and fair discussion of all peace proposals.”

“There remains a noticeable gap between the peace summit arrangements and China's demands, and China finds it hard to participate,” Mao Ning, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told a news conference in Beijing.

Lauding “solid mutual trust and friendship” with Riyadh, Wang expressed Beijing’s readiness to expand cooperation with Riyadh in various fields including energy, investment, emerging industries, 5G communications, artificial intelligence, digital economy and aerospace.