The underlying premises driving China's approach in the Middle East seem increasingly out of sync with the shifting realities. Perhaps most ironically, Hamas (and its supporters in Iran, etc.) embrace a strand of radical Islam that China fears most.
Rayhan Asat comments on China’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Muslim world’s silence on ongoing rights abuses against Uyghurs in China, and the responsibility of the Chinese diaspora in advocating for human rights.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated China’s calls for a cease-fire and a “two-state solution” during separate talks with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts.
China’s Foreign Ministry and media have not criticized Hamas for the October 7 attack and have blamed Israel for the conflict. And there has been a dramatic spike in online antisemitism.
Meanwhile, Chinese embassies around the world have cautioned citizens in their areas to avoid participating in protests and to stay safe.
In trying to stay neutral in the Israel-Hamas war, China may have angered Israel and scuppered its chances of mediating peace in the region.
A member of the Israeli embassy staff in Beijing was stabbed by an unknown assailant. The victim is reported to be in a hospital in stable condition.
China has expressed “sadness” at the “civilian casualties caused by the conflict,” but stopped short of condemning Hamas for its attack on Israel.
Later this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing for the first time since 2017. The past decade has seen China emerge as the largest trade partner for most countries in the Middle East and North Africa. There is no reason for Jerusalem not to expand cooperation with China in multiple realms.
Want more like this? Subscribe to The China Project's official TikTok channel, The China Project, where Susan St.Denis explains complex topics about China clearly and simply in TikTok’s fast-evolving visual and verbal language and to our YouTube channel, where Lizzi Lee interviews experts to take a closer look at where China is heading.