China's top diplomat urges efforts to prevent escalation in Mideast conflict

China

China's top diplomat urges efforts to prevent escalation in Mideast conflict

2026-03-21 00:41 Last Updated At：16:07

China's top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday that one of the top priorities at present is to contain the spread of the conflict and prevent further involvement of other countries.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, made the remarks in a phone conversation with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French president, at the latter's request.

Wang elaborated on China's position, saying that the current situation in the Middle East is still deteriorating, with the conflict continuing to spread. This has not only undermined the stability of global energy supply but also led to a severe humanitarian crisis.

Resorting to force will not solve the problem, and an unjust war should not be allowed to continue, he said.

In the face of the critical situation, China and France, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, should strengthen strategic communication and coordination, firmly uphold the UN Charter and international law, and prevent the world from regressing to the "law of the jungle," Wang said.

He added that the other two top priorities are for the international community to speak with one voice in calling for an immediate ceasefire and to intensify efforts to advance peace talks, and for the United Nations and the UN Security Council to play their due role in facilitating the early restoration of peace and stability in the region.

Despite the difficulties, dialogue and negotiation remain the right path out of the crisis, Wang said, adding that China and France should work together toward this end.

For his part, Bonne shared his perspectives on the current situation in the Middle East, including developments in Iran and Lebanon.

He said that France and China, as major countries, both support the United Nations, abide by international law, and advocate resolving differences through dialogue.

He said that the two countries should work together to explore solutions and contribute to easing tensions and resuming negotiations.

France is willing to enhance communication and cooperation with China to push for the early achievement of peace and stability in the Middle East, he added.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.