UPDATE - China’s president says Gaza war should not continue indefinitely

CHANGES, HEADLINE, DECK, INTRO, ADDS COMMENTS FROM CHINESE PRESIDENT

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday that the war in Gaza “should not continue indefinitely” as he reiterated China’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

“The war should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever. Commitment to the two-state solution should not be wavered at will,” Xi told the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Tunisian President Kais Saied and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan are attending the forum.

Xi said 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.”

Extending support to Palestine becoming a full UN member state, Xi reiterated China’s call for a “more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference.”

Xi also said that China “will continue to support efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and post-war reconstruction.”

Beijing supports the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in providing emergency humanitarian aid to Gaza, he added.

- Building relations with Arab nations ‘for world peace and stability’

On relations with the Arab states, Xi said Beijing was “willing to stand in solidarity” with the group while building China-Arab relations “into a model for maintaining world peace and stability.”

“In a turbulent and unstable world, mutual respect is the way to harmonious coexistence, and fairness and justice are the foundation for lasting security,” he said.

“China is willing to work with the Arab states to explore ways to resolve hotspot issues that are conducive to upholding fairness and justice and to achieving long-term peace and stability,” said Xi.

He added that the framework for investment and finance cooperation with Arab countries will be expanded, including in the banking sector.

With an annual turnover of around $400 billion, China is currently the largest trade partner of the Arab region.

Xi also proposed to work with the Arab side to establish the China-Arab Center of Global Civilization Initiative.

Beijing will invite 200 leaders of Arab political parties to visit China each year, striving to achieve the goal of 10 million two-way visits of tourists in the next five years, he said.

Xi also pledged to expedite cooperation projects that are financed by the special loans in support of industrialization in the Middle East.

“China supports closer cooperation between financial institutions from the two sides, welcomes Arab states to issue panda bonds in China, and welcomes Arab banks to join the Cross-border Interbank Payment System. China is also ready to deepen exchanges and cooperation on central bank digital currency with the Arab side,” he said.

The 10th ministerial meeting opened in Beijing on Thursday as China and the Arab states are marking the 20th anniversary of the forum, which was founded in 2004.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Salem Ould Merzouk co-chair the forum.

Foreign ministers or representatives of the Arab states and the secretary-general of the League of Arab States are also attending the forum.

The forum serves as a formal dialogue initiative between China and the Arab League to discuss the primary multilateral coordination mechanism between the world's second-largest economy and the Arab states.