BEIJING (Xinhua) /PNN/
Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward a three-point proposal for the settlement of the Palestinian question during his talks with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing on Wednesday.
Xi stressed that the Palestinian question has remained unresolved for over half a century, causing great sufferings to the Palestinian people; justice must be done to Palestine as soon as possible.
First, the fundamental solution lies in the establishment of an independent state of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty on the basis of the 1967 borders and with east Jerusalem as its capital, he said.
Second, Palestine's economic and livelihood needs should be met, and the international community needs to step up development assistance and humanitarian aid to Palestine, he said.
Third, it is important to keep to the right direction of peace talks. The historical status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem should be respected, and excessive and provocative words and actions should be avoided. A large-scale, more authoritative and more influential international peace conference should be convened so as to create conditions for the resumption of peace talks and contribute tangible efforts to help Palestine and Israel live in peace, he said.
"China stands ready to play a positive role to assist Palestine in achieving internal reconciliation and promote peace talks," Xi said.
The announcement came as President Abbas held talks with his counterpart Xi in Beijing in a step that underscores the strong relations between both countries.
President Mahmoud Abbas and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping today agreed on the establishment of the Palestine-China strategic partnership.
President Abbas expressed his appreciation to China for agreeing to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a dialogue partner pending the approval of the other SCO member states, while considering that SCO would offer the peoples worldwide the equitable opportunity to access development away from hegemony and exploitation.
As part of enhancing cooperation with China within the Belt and Road Initiative, President Abbas expressed aspiration for activating the China-Palestine Joint Economic and Trade Committee through the investment insurance and soft loans provided by the Chinese Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (SINOSURE), as he highlighted the importance of establishing a free trade zone between both countries.
Commenting on Israel’s complete disinterest in peace, President Abbas stated that the current extremist far-right Israeli government neither believes in peace nor in the realization of the two-state solution in line with international law, elaborating that Israel has been proceeding with colonial settlement expansion, land pillage, forcible expulsions, enactment of racist laws; all of which are an integral part of Israel’s decades-long brutal settler-colonial and apartheid policies against indigenous Palestinians intended to undermine the two-state solution and forcibly displace indigenous Palestinians and steal their land.
He expressed appreciation to China for its support to Palestine in international forums as well as for its clear positions on the Palestinian question, manifest in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2017 four-point proposal and the 2021 initiatives on it in addition to the three-point vision for the implementation of the two-state solution.
Touching upon the intra-Palestinian reconciliation, President Abbas pointed that efforts were still underway to achieve reconciliation and end the division based on the political program of PLO and recognition of PLO as the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, which would pave the way towards the formation of a national unity government.
He thanked China for supporting the Palestinian people’s inalienable and just rights, Palestine’s application for full membership of the United Nations as well as for offering humanitarian and development support.
He reiterated Palestine’s unwavering support to the one-China policy, recognizing Taiwan as an integral part of China, and opposition to politicizing human rights issues.
