Beijing: Beijing announced Friday that Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas will pay a state visit to China the following week after China said it was prepared to assist in facilitating Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Mahmud Abbas, the president of the state of Palestine, will visit China from June 13 to June 16 at President Xi Jinping's invitation, according to a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, Hua Chunying.
In April, Qin Gang, China's foreign minister, told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his nation was ready to support peace talks. Beijing is attempting to establish itself as a regional mediator, which is why Qin made separate phone calls to the top diplomats of Israel and Palestine.
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In a phone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Qin urged "steps to resume peace talks" and declared that "China is ready to provide convenience for this."
According to the official news agency, Qin also informed Riyad Al-Maliki of the Palestinian Authority that Beijing is in favour of resuming negotiations as soon as possible.
In both calls, Qin emphasised China's push for peace negotiations based on the adoption of a "two-state solution."
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"President Abbas is an old and good friend of the Chinese people," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular briefing later on Friday.
He is the first head of an Arab state to visit China this year, fully emulating the friendly, long-standing relations between China and Palestine.
"The Middle East problem's central issue is the Palestinian question. It affects both global justice and fairness as well as Middle Eastern peace and stability.
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In a region where the United States has long served as the primary power broker, China has recently been on the diplomatic offensive, brokering the reestablishment of relations between rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia in March.
Peace talks between Israel and Palestine have been inactive since 2014.