Other BriefingsPalestine, China, Sign ‘Strategic Partnership Agreement’ In Beijing
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing
China said on Wednesday (June 14) that it has signed a “strategic partnership” with the Palestinian Authority during a visit to Beijing by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The announcement marked another step in China´s campaign to gain political and economic influence in the Middle East. Beijing established diplomatic ties with Palestine in 1988; and has appointed a special envoy to meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials. China has been involved with construction, manufacturing and other economic projects in Palestine.
Abbas was welcomed to Beijing and given full military honours at the Great Hall of the People while meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi noted “We are good friends and partners and have firmly supported the cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights. China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the Palestinian side to promote a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue as soon as possible.”
Xi also called the strategic partnership an “important milestone in the history of bilateral relations,” but its financial details were not immediately disclosed.
Abbas said his administration was “looking forward to strengthening cooperation with China within the framework of its initiative” and securing investments. “We especially appreciate the Chinese side´s commitment to financing a number of development projects presented by Palestine. We wish the speedy dispatch of technical delegations to implement these projects.” he said.
Israel, with Palestine marked for political reasons as ‘The West Bank’ and the separate Palestinian ‘Gaza Strip’ enclave. Significant and serious historical and border disputes continue to create military problems between them, divided by religion and war. Israel, the UK and the United States, along with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico continue to deny the right for Palestine to exist and do not recognise it as a legitimate state. The BRICS countries; together with Argentina, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye are part of the 139 other countries that do.
China also has sought close ties with Israel to expand its diplomatic presence. Abbas’ visit follows China’s hosting of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia that resulted in the restoring of diplomatic relations between the two Middle East rivals. The Riyadh-Tehran rapprochement was seen as a diplomatic coup for China as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States as slowly withdrawing from the wider region.
China-Palestine trade is small yet significant to Palestine, reaching US$249 million in 2021, with the bulk of that Chinese exports to Palestine. The main products that China exports to Palestine are construction use plywood, air conditioners, and DVD equipment. The small volumes of Palestinian exports (US$337,000) were mainly arts and some antiquities in addition to iron products.
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