The Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister, Chin Gang, made it clear last Monday, during separate meetings with his Palestinian and Israeli counterparts, that his country is willing to mediate to reach a peace deal in the Middle East.

His phone calls with Riad al-Maliki and Eli Cohen come shortly after a major diplomatic success by China in the region that has embarrassed the US.

Mr. Chin encouraged his Israeli counterpart to take steps that would allow the resumption of talks and underlined that China is ready to play a negotiating role, according to the New China agency.

The Chinese Foreign Minister also emphasized to his Palestinian counterpart that Beijing is in favor of resuming negotiations as soon as possible, according to the same source.

He also reminded his counterparts that China supports a solution based on the two-state principle, at a time when the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been at an absolute impasse since 2014.

US officials are trying to downplay China’s role, saying Beijing is still far from undermining US influence in the Middle East, a region that remains largely under the US security umbrella.

But China’s recent success – restoring relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran – has unnerved Washington, as the latter is criticized for gradually abandoning its role in the region as it appears fully committed to the war in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and, in the long run, in China and the Asia-Pacific region.

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