Israelis, Palestinians to attend forum in Beijing

China will hold a symposium on peace between Palestine and Israel next Thursday and Friday in Beijing in an effort to contribute wisdom to resolving the Palestinian issue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Friday.

Nabil Shaath, adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on foreign affairs and international relations, and Hilik Bar, deputy speaker of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, will lead delegations attending the meeting, Lu said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet with participants from the two countries, and Chen Xiaodong, assistant foreign minister, will attend the opening ceremony of the symposium and give a speech.

"As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China has always actively supported the Middle East peace process, and played a constructive role in it," Lu said at a regular news conference in Beijing.

President Xi Jinping put forward a four-point proposal for resolving the Palestinian issue when meeting with Abbas during the latter's visit to Beijing in July.

In the proposal, Xi expressed China's willingness to participate in and support all kinds of efforts that will further the political settlement of the issue, and offered to hold a symposium on Palestinian-Israeli peace within this year.

Lu also said that under current circumstances, the meeting aims to provide a platform for people from both nations who advocate peace to communicate with each other, and jointly express their aspirations for peace, in order to encourage new ideas for pushing forward the peace process.

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced his official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and issued instructions to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, triggering concerns around the world.

Yin Gang, a scholar in Middle East studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said holding the symposium is "something within China's capability" that helps to promote the Middle East peace process.

"It shows China's wish to peacefully resolve the Palestinian issue, and bring both sides back to the negotiating table as soon as possible," he said.

China has previously held two similar symposiums, in 2006 in Beijing and in 2013 in Jerusalem.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn