China’s Middle East envoy Zhai Jun was in Qatar, embarking on a Middle East visit that China said on Friday was part of a bid to “cool down” the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The foreign ministry said that Zhai Jun met with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov as well as Qatari top diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi in the capital Doha on Thursday.
Both meetings noticed the diplomats exchange thoughts on the battle between “between Palestine and Israel”, Beijing said.
The country would work with Russia “to cool down the situation as soon as possible, and to play a positive role in resuming the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks”, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
Zhai told the Qatari foreign minister, “The current situation between Palestine and Israel is at a critical point.”
The United States has said that it hopes China’s friendship with Hamas-backer Iran could assist in calming the clash, particularly after China brokered a detente between long-time foes Iran and Saudi Arabia this year.
Doha is host to a Hamas office, and the Gulf state has been engaged in extreme diplomacy behind the scenes and has been linked to negotiations for a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel because of its open channels with the militant group.
Zhai said, “Qatar has an important influence on the Palestinian issue. China is willing to maintain communication and coordination with Qatar and play a constructive role in easing the current tensions.”
