UPDATE - ‘Major countries’ must be ‘fair, impartial': China tells US on Gaza

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT OF WANG YI, CHANGES HEADER, INTRO

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Wednesday said “major countries” must express “fairness and justice” on the situation in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Beijing conveyed the message to Washington during a phone call between top diplomats of China and the US to discuss the war in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed Blinken’s recent travel to the Middle East and Washington’s “diplomatic efforts in the region,” according to statements released by the two sides.

According to a readout of the phone call released by Beijing, the two sides exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and “agreed to maintain communication on the situation in the Middle East.”

“At the crossroads of war and peace, major countries must adhere to fairness and justice, uphold objectivity and impartiality, demonstrate calmness and rationality, and make every effort to cool down the situation and prevent larger-scale humanitarian disasters,” Wang told Blinken.

He added: “The top priority is to cease fire and end the war as soon as possible.”

The Chinese foreign minister stressed any arrangement involving the future of Palestine “must reflect the will of the Palestinian people.”

“China believes that the core of the solution is to respect Palestine’s right to statehood and self-determination, embodying ‘Palestinian ownership, Palestinian leadership, and Palestinian rule’,” said Wang, expressing Beijing’s will “to work with all parties to make efforts to this end.”

Without directly pointing out the war in Gaza, Blinken reiterated the “imperative of all parties working to prevent the conflict from spreading.”

On the recent Houthi attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, Blinken said such attacks “pose an unacceptable threat to maritime security and international law that all nations have an obligation to uphold.”

The statement added that the two sides agreed the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict should be implemented.

The phone call was held when Beijing complained that a US P-8A anti-submarine warfare patrol aircraft had transited the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.

It said the Eastern Theater Command of People’s Liberation Army “organized military aircraft to track and monitor the US aircraft and dealt with it according to law and regulations.”

On Monday, Beijing claimed a US warship had “illegally entered its territorial waters” in the disputed South China Sea.

Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza last Friday after a weeklong humanitarian pause with Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 16,248 Palestinians have been killed and more than 43,616 wounded in relentless Israeli air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.