China urges US to play due role for truce in Gaza

Beijing said on Tuesday that it hopes Washington will listen to the growing international calls to end hostilities between Palestine and Israel, and refrain from unilaterally obstructing the United Nations Security Council from passing relevant resolutions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made these remarks at a news conference, after United States Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said at a recent Brookings Institution event that China wishes to become influential in the Middle East, but it is on the shoulders of the US to end this conflict.

The US should play its due role in promoting an immediate cease-fire and ending the violence to prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster, Wang said.

Since the outbreak of the Palestine-Israel conflict, China has been committed to pushing for a cease-fire and protecting civilians.

As president of the UN Security Council for November, China promoted the adoption of the first resolution and submitted China's position paper to push the UNSC to take more action.

Beijing has also provided multiple batches of humanitarian assistance, including cash, food and medicine to Gaza, Wang said.

The spokesman stressed that China does not have selfish interests in the Middle East and does not seek to form exclusive circles.

China always believes that the future of the Middle East should be in the hands of the people in the region, he said, adding that China supports the Palestinian people's just cause of restoring their legitimate national rights.

In recent years, China has proposed a series of initiatives and proposals to broker peace in the Middle East.

In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal, which includes the agreement to resume diplomatic relations under the mediation of China. Last week, the first vice-ministerial level meeting of the China-Saudi Arabia-Iran trilateral joint committee was held in Beijing.

All of these efforts were made to encourage regional countries to realize development through solidarity and resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and consultation, said Wang, adding that China would like to work relentlessly to that end.