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Beijing rolled out the red carpet for the leaders of two long-standing foes in early May. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas conducted his three-day visit to China on May 5， while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Shanghai one day later for his five-day visit. Although no specific result in terms of the peaceful talk between Israelis and Palestinians was released， observers say it is encouraging that China is willing to provide an opportunity and a helping hand on the stagnant Middle East peace process.
“If Israeli and Palestinian leaders conducted talks in a third country， it will make for a huge breakthrough in the peace process. But the time is not yet mature，” said Li Shaoxian， Vice President of the China Institute of International Studies （CIIS）.
He stressed that the two leaders’ China visits in the same period were significant. There are very few countries having enough capability and influence to invite leaders from the two opposing sides at the same time. “Abbas’ and Netanyahu’s visits definitely reflected China’s increasing diplomatic strength，” Li added.
Abbas’ visit was his first to China as the Palestinian president， and he was also the first Middle Eastern head of state to visit China after Xi Jinping assumed the Chinese presidency in March. Netanyahu’s visit immediately followed his trip to the United States.
With the two leaders’ visits overlapping for two days， they had no scheduled meeting in China. But their visits surely proved that China， as one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council， attempted to facilitate the resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel following a four-year deadlock.
Professor Yan Xuetong at Tsinghua University concluded that there are two implications of China inviting the two leaders for simultaneous visits： First， China is willing to play a bigger role in international security issues， and second， it hopes to prevent military conflict in the Middle East from further escalation.
During a meeting with Abbas， Xi proposed for the peaceful settlement of the Middle East issue， saying negotiation should be taken as the only way to peace between Palestine and Israel and principles such as“land for peace” should be firmly upheld.
Abbas said that he appreciates China’s objective stance on the Palestine issue， and expects China to continue playing an important role.
Although having no arrangement on meeting with Netanyahu in China， Abbas said he was glad that China has been maintaining connections with Israel and Palestine at the same time. The Palestinian president also expressed hope that China would get the opportunity to hear from both sides during the visits， and deliver Palestine’s appeal to the Israeli side.
Netanyahu also appreciated China’s efforts when meeting with Chinese leaders， saying Israel would like to keep in touch with China on the peace talk-related developments.
Qu Xing， President of the CIIS， pointed out that the two leaders’ China visits were intentionally arranged that way by the host. He explained that China has been keeping good relationship with Israel， Palestine and even the whole Arab world， and it has been actively bringing the two sides back to the negotiating table. “As China’s influence is on the rise， it can do more to ease tensions in the Middle East. If the Palestinian and Israeli leaders trust China to pass on certain messages， China will be very glad to carry out the favor to encourage the resumption of the Middle East peace process.”
Time to act
During the past two years， the situation in the whole Middle East has deteriorated. Libya and Egypt did not meet expectations following their power transitions， and instead descended into more turmoil. Harsh conflicts inside Syria make that country’s future very gloomy. And the Iranian nuclear issue is still a ticking time bomb. Due to the ongoing financial crisis trampling most developed countries， the international community is giving less focus to the old problem between Israel and Palestine. And the peace process has faced further setbacks.
Over 60 percent of the world’s energy comes from the Middle East， and the region has most crucial energy routes linking the globe. An unstable Middle East is jeopardizing the whole world’s peace and stability. Without solving the Israeli-Palestinian gridlock， there will be hardly any progress in other problems in the region.
Now is a crucial time. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords， a peace agreement reached between former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat in their secret meeting on August 20， 1993 in Norway’s Oslo. It is significant for China to make diplomatic efforts to regain world focus on this question.
Compared with traditional mediators of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict， China has a unique advantage in that it has long maintained good diplomatic relations and close economic cooperation with both sides， and has gained their friendship and trust. Moreover， due to China’s stance on the issue， its suggestions will be more easily accepted by the two sides. Closer economic cooperation with the Middle East is also an important reason for China’s concern in the region. China’s economic and trade ties with Middle East countries， along with its influence in the region， have been growing stronger in recent years amid the world economic crisis. In 2011， China’s trade volume with the Middle East was $190 billion. It is expected that the sum will mount to $350 billion- 500 billion in 2020. The country is now Israel’s largest trading partner in Asia and the third largest in the world， as their trade volume reached$10 billion last year.
China appointed its first Middle East envoy in 2002. Since then， the three successive Chinese envoys have conducted dozens of mediation trips during their terms.
“China is following an omnidirectional diplomatic concept with a more obvious and active attitude， and it’s gradually becoming an irreplaceable contributor to ensuring world peace，” said Hua Liming， former Chinese Ambassador to Iran. According to Hua， the China visits by Palestinian and Israeli leaders reflect the new Chinese leadership’s focus on the situation in the Middle East as well as the growing expectations of countries in the region for China to have a clearer voice and a more constructive influence.
Hua predicted that China has the capability and opportunity to make great achievements in pushing forward the peace process in the Middle East. But he noted that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be completely solved with common concerns of major political powers， especially the United States， which is the key-holder of peace talk between the two sides.
“If Israeli and Palestinian leaders conducted talks in a third country， it will make for a huge breakthrough in the peace process. But the time is not yet mature，” said Li Shaoxian， Vice President of the China Institute of International Studies （CIIS）.
He stressed that the two leaders’ China visits in the same period were significant. There are very few countries having enough capability and influence to invite leaders from the two opposing sides at the same time. “Abbas’ and Netanyahu’s visits definitely reflected China’s increasing diplomatic strength，” Li added.
Abbas’ visit was his first to China as the Palestinian president， and he was also the first Middle Eastern head of state to visit China after Xi Jinping assumed the Chinese presidency in March. Netanyahu’s visit immediately followed his trip to the United States.
With the two leaders’ visits overlapping for two days， they had no scheduled meeting in China. But their visits surely proved that China， as one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council， attempted to facilitate the resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel following a four-year deadlock.
Professor Yan Xuetong at Tsinghua University concluded that there are two implications of China inviting the two leaders for simultaneous visits： First， China is willing to play a bigger role in international security issues， and second， it hopes to prevent military conflict in the Middle East from further escalation.
During a meeting with Abbas， Xi proposed for the peaceful settlement of the Middle East issue， saying negotiation should be taken as the only way to peace between Palestine and Israel and principles such as“land for peace” should be firmly upheld.
Abbas said that he appreciates China’s objective stance on the Palestine issue， and expects China to continue playing an important role.
Although having no arrangement on meeting with Netanyahu in China， Abbas said he was glad that China has been maintaining connections with Israel and Palestine at the same time. The Palestinian president also expressed hope that China would get the opportunity to hear from both sides during the visits， and deliver Palestine’s appeal to the Israeli side.
Netanyahu also appreciated China’s efforts when meeting with Chinese leaders， saying Israel would like to keep in touch with China on the peace talk-related developments.
Qu Xing， President of the CIIS， pointed out that the two leaders’ China visits were intentionally arranged that way by the host. He explained that China has been keeping good relationship with Israel， Palestine and even the whole Arab world， and it has been actively bringing the two sides back to the negotiating table. “As China’s influence is on the rise， it can do more to ease tensions in the Middle East. If the Palestinian and Israeli leaders trust China to pass on certain messages， China will be very glad to carry out the favor to encourage the resumption of the Middle East peace process.”
Time to act
During the past two years， the situation in the whole Middle East has deteriorated. Libya and Egypt did not meet expectations following their power transitions， and instead descended into more turmoil. Harsh conflicts inside Syria make that country’s future very gloomy. And the Iranian nuclear issue is still a ticking time bomb. Due to the ongoing financial crisis trampling most developed countries， the international community is giving less focus to the old problem between Israel and Palestine. And the peace process has faced further setbacks.
Over 60 percent of the world’s energy comes from the Middle East， and the region has most crucial energy routes linking the globe. An unstable Middle East is jeopardizing the whole world’s peace and stability. Without solving the Israeli-Palestinian gridlock， there will be hardly any progress in other problems in the region.
Now is a crucial time. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords， a peace agreement reached between former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat in their secret meeting on August 20， 1993 in Norway’s Oslo. It is significant for China to make diplomatic efforts to regain world focus on this question.
Compared with traditional mediators of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict， China has a unique advantage in that it has long maintained good diplomatic relations and close economic cooperation with both sides， and has gained their friendship and trust. Moreover， due to China’s stance on the issue， its suggestions will be more easily accepted by the two sides. Closer economic cooperation with the Middle East is also an important reason for China’s concern in the region. China’s economic and trade ties with Middle East countries， along with its influence in the region， have been growing stronger in recent years amid the world economic crisis. In 2011， China’s trade volume with the Middle East was $190 billion. It is expected that the sum will mount to $350 billion- 500 billion in 2020. The country is now Israel’s largest trading partner in Asia and the third largest in the world， as their trade volume reached$10 billion last year.
China appointed its first Middle East envoy in 2002. Since then， the three successive Chinese envoys have conducted dozens of mediation trips during their terms.
“China is following an omnidirectional diplomatic concept with a more obvious and active attitude， and it’s gradually becoming an irreplaceable contributor to ensuring world peace，” said Hua Liming， former Chinese Ambassador to Iran. According to Hua， the China visits by Palestinian and Israeli leaders reflect the new Chinese leadership’s focus on the situation in the Middle East as well as the growing expectations of countries in the region for China to have a clearer voice and a more constructive influence.
Hua predicted that China has the capability and opportunity to make great achievements in pushing forward the peace process in the Middle East. But he noted that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be completely solved with common concerns of major political powers， especially the United States， which is the key-holder of peace talk between the two sides.