Between Herzog and the Palestinian Foreign Minister: Chinese Foreign Minister's Meetings in Baku

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with President Herzog and Palestinian Foreign Minister Shahin on the sidelines of the CICA summit in Baku. Herzog presented the threats from Iran; Shahin called for international pressure on Israel regarding Gaza and the West Bank.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held two separate meetings today on the sidelines of the CICA summit in Baku: one with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and the other with Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin. The meetings reflect China's complex balance of relations in the Middle East. In the meeting with Herzog, according to a statement from the President's Office, the president emphasized the strategic threats to Israel from Iran and its terrorist proxies, alongside the importance of economic and cultural ties with China. Wang's response to these remarks has not yet been published. In the separate meeting with Shahin, Wang emphasized China's support for the two-state solution and the Palestinians' right to establish a state, in accordance with international law. Shahin called for increased international pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, comply with the ceasefire agreement, and halt construction in E1, which she said harms the geographic contiguity of the West Bank. She also requested pressure to release Palestinian tax revenues that Israel is withholding.