China’s top diplomat: Israel acting ‘beyond scope of self-defense’

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the EU-China High-Level Strategic Dialogue at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on October 13, 2023. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)

BEIJING—China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday called on the United States to “play a constructive and responsible role” in the Israel-Hamas conflict, and urged “the convening of an international peace meeting as soon as possible to promote the reaching of broad consensus.”

Wang made the comments on a call to his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

In remarks published on Sunday, he also said Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone “beyond the scope of self-defense,” adding that the Israeli government must “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza.”

State broadcaster CCTV reported earlier on Sunday that Chinese envoy Zhai Jun will visit the Middle East next week to push for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict and promote peace talks.

Zhai said in his interview that “the prospect of further broadening and outward spillover (of the conflict) is deeply worrying.”

He met on Friday with the Arab League’s representatives in China and said Beijing supported the regional group “in playing an important role on the Palestine issue,” according to a foreign ministry statement.

Zhai also told the bloc that Beijing would “make unremitting efforts to get the Middle East peace process back on track,” the statement added. —AFP