Palestine appreciates China's role in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace process: ambassador

Palestine appreciates China's constructive role in promoting the political settlement of the Palestinian issue, Ambassador of Palestine to China Jawad Mohammed Qutish Awad said in Beijing on Friday.

When jointly meeting the press with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron in Beijing on Thursday, President Xi Jinping announced China will provide 100 million U.S. dollars of assistance to Palestine to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support its recovery and reconstruction.

"Following two years of devastating war, over 90 percent of Gaza Strip's housing, infrastructure, hospitals, roads, and universities have been destroyed. China has consistently supported Palestine in various fields such as politics, economy, and development. This generous donation comes as timely aid for the Palestinian government and people," said the ambassador in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV).

More than 70,000 Palestinian people have been killed since the conflict in Gaza erupted on Oct 7, 2023, with millions suffering from extreme poverty and catastrophic hunger.

China has reiterated its support for the Palestinian liberation cause on multiple international occasions, firmly believing that the two-state solution remains the only realistic path to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli issue.

Through channels including the United Nations, Egypt, and Jordan, China has provided multiple batches of emergency humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip and extended material and financial support to the Palestinian Authority and other relevant parties. China has also emphasized that it is important to uphold the principle of "the Palestinians governing Palestine" in the post-conflict governance of Gaza.

"We attach great importance to China's support for the two-state solution. Without the establishment of the State of Palestine, regional stability cannot be achieved. Gaza must be an inalienable part of the future Palestinian state. I would also like to reiterate here that the State of Palestine firmly supports the one-China principle," Jawad said.

China, one of the first countries to recognize the State of Palestine, established the strategic partnership with Palestine in 2023.

After countries including the United Kingdom, France, and Canada recognized the State of Palestine in September this year, the number of countries in the international community recognizing the State of Palestine has reached nearly 160, accounting for over 81 percent of the United Nations member states.

An increasing number of countries are looking to advance a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza through cooperation.

Jawad said that the China-proposed Global Governance Initiative offers the international community a more effective path to resolving the Palestinian issue.

"This initiative aligns with the strategic agreements between Palestine and China, contributing to ending Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory and establishing the State of Palestine across all Palestinian territory. Without a just resolution to the Palestinian issue, neither the world nor the Middle East can achieve stability. The key to a just resolution lies in the implementation of international law," he said.

Palestine appreciates China's role in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace process: ambassador

Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin on Friday called on China and France to jointly promote multilateralism and cooperation.

Raffarin is currently in the Chengdu City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, the second stop of French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to China from Wednesday to Friday.

Macron's visit is a significant opportunity for the two major powers to rebalance bilateral trade ties, and also a chance for them to redefine a vision for global governance, Raffarin told China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Noting that China and France are both peace-loving countries, Raffarin said they must work together to contribute to world peace and promote multilateralism. "France and China are peace-loving nations. The Chinese people have never waged a war outside their borders -- they have fought only when attacked. China can speak for peace, and so can France, which managed to make peace with Germany despite the many tragedies that occurred during three wars. We are peaceful peoples, and therefore we must contribute together to world peace," said Raffarin.

"Both China and France support a multilateral global governance system. We want to reform multilateralism because today's rules are still those of 1945. It has been a long time since the UN and other international institutions were created. They must be reformed and modernized, while preserving the ambition of multilateralism to uphold world peace. From this perspective, Sino-French cooperation is in the interest of both countries -- and also in the interest of the world and of global peace," he added.

Raffarin said he expects more cooperation between China and Europe, and called for China's support in ending the Ukraine crisis.

"We clearly need to make progress in China-Europe cooperation. We must also make commercial progress by increasing cooperation between our industries -- including more Chinese components in European products, and more European components in Chinese products. We have progress to make, but the path has been set by the two heads of state. A new path has been opened for more balanced development. And of course, what is very important is that a war is now being fought in Europe -- in Ukraine. We need China's peaceful engagement to help the world find a way toward peace, in this conflict as well as many others. Peace is at the heart of our commitments -- it is China's commitment, and it is also France's," said Raffarin.

Former French PM urges China, France to jointly promote multilateralism, cooperation