China now says Israel has “Right to self defence”. As Foreign Minister Wang Yi gets ready for a high-profile trip to Washington, China, which has come under fire for its stance on the war, acknowledged that Israel has the right to self-defense against Hamas.
“Every country has the right to self-defense but should abide by international humanitarian law and protect civilians,” Wang told his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in a telephone call Monday, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The comments appear to be Beijing’s first acknowledgment that Israel has the right to take action against Hamas, which the US and EU have classified as a terrorist organization.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, called last week for an immediate cease-fire while offering to coordinate with Egypt and other Arab nations “to push for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue as soon as possible.”
China has not condemned Hamas, which has attacked Israel since October 7 and claimed the lives of 1,400 people, many of them civilians. On a trip to Beijing, US congressional leaders confronted Xi about the matter.
Hours after criticizing Wang for demonstrating “no sympathy or support for Israel during these tough, troubled times,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged China to stand with Israel and denounce the attacks.
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The Israelis also openly rebuked China. “Israel is deeply disappointed at China’s official statements and media reports,” Deputy Director-General in charge of Asia-Pacific Affairs Rafi Harpaz told Special Envoy on the Middle East Issue Zhai Jun during a call, according to an Oct. 13 statement in Chinese by the Israeli Embassy in Beijing.
Wang reiterated in Monday’s call that China is “deeply concerned by the continued escalation of the conflict and the intensification of the situation” and “deeply saddened by the large number of civilian casualties caused by the conflict,” according to Xinhua. He once again condemned all acts that harm civilians and opposes any violations of international laws.
Wang was scheduled to visit the US this week for high-level meetings when the pivot happened.
In a briefing call with reporters on Monday, senior Biden administration officials announced that he will visit Washington from October 26 to October 28 and meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
The US and China have different stances on the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to Ambassador Nicholas Burns of Beijing in an interview with Bloomberg Television last week.
China has sided with the Palestinian cause and refrained from denouncing Hamas, while President Joe Biden reiterated the US’ strong support for Israel during a visit to the country this week.
As China now says Israel has “Right to self defence”, Wang stated on Monday China has no vested interests in the issue and sincerely hopes that differences between Israel and Palestine can be thoroughly and fairly resolved on the basis of the two-state solution so that all parties’ legitimate security concerns can be truly and thoroughly addressed.
“China will firmly support anything that is conducive to peace and will do its best as long as it is conducive to the reconciliation between Palestine and Israel, ” he added.
